Forbidden
by KlainePotter621
Summary: When Kurt and Blaine meet each other at school, they become instant best friends. But when everyone in the town of Walnut Grove finds out who they are, will they be able to handle it or will the love they have not be strong enough?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, guys! I thank you all in advance for reading my story and I hope you enjoy it!**

 **(I don't own Little House, glee or the characters from either show.)**

"I hate that Nellie Oleson."

Laura Ingalls said this sentence almost everyday like clockwork after school with her sister, Mary and her best friend, Kurt Hummel. And everyday, like clockwork, Mary would respond with, "Laura Ingalls. You shouldn't say stuff like that." But today was different. Because today it was Kurt who responded.

"Laura, hate is a strong word. You shouldn't hate anybody."

"She pushed you down, Kurt."

"She always pushes me down." Kurt bowed his head and looked at his school books.

"The next time I see her do it, I'm going to punch her right in the nose."

"Laura Ingalls. You better not let Ma and Pa hear you saying that." Mary finally made her voice heard.

"Pa won't care. He'll probably tell me that he was proud of me for standing up for Kurt."

Kurt looked back up at Laura.

"Laura, don't. If you fight her, it's just going to make her madder. I'll be fine. It's only at lunch time anyway."

They all stopped walking at the tree they normally do so Kurt could go to his home.

"Thank you for being willing to help me, Laura but it's really not necessary. It's fine. I gotta go now. My pa is waiting for me. He told me to come straight home because we're going fishing for dinner. I'll see you at school tomorrow."

"Bye, Kurt." Mary said. She started walking ahead of Laura, just as she did everyday. But it didn't matter. Laura was a fast enough runner, she could catch up.

"Kurt, are you sure you don't want me to help?"

"I'm sure. Thanks though. I'll be okay. See you tomorrow?"

"Yeah. Maybe we can go fishing tomorrow."

"Maybe. I'll have to see. I have a lot of chores."

"I hope you can. Maybe ask your pa tonight and let me know."

"Yeah. Yeah, I'll ask."

"Bye, Kurt!"

She ran to catch up to Mary who was already pretty far ahead. Kurt took a right at the tree and started walking to his farm. He loved Laura and Mary, they were his best friends but being around them sometimes made Kurt sad. They not only had each other but they had 2 other sisters at home. They also had a ma and pa. Kurt didn't. Kurt was an only child and he only had a pa. And aside from Laura and Mary, he didn't have any friends either. He got teased at school a lot but mostly by Nellie and Willie Oleson. Most people didn't really talk to him, let alone tease him. But sometimes, they'd like to play baseball and "accidentally" throw the ball at his head.

He loved walking with Laura everyday but he hated parting ways. His farm was really far away from the school and he had to walk most of the way by himself. No one was near his farm. There was an old house that no one had lived in as long as Kurt had been alive and he couldn't remember a time when anyone from Walnut Grove had been over to his house for dinner. If Kurt didn't go to school and his father didn't work, people wouldn't even know that the Hummel's existed.

Kurt was walking by the old, abandoned house and stopped in his tracks. There were people walking in and out of it. They were getting things out of their wagon and walking into the house. Kurt ran over to speak to the woman who was standing in the wagon grabbing some pots and pans.

"Hi! What are you doing here?"

She looked him over. Kurt did the same. She was a very pretty woman. Kurt could see brown, curly hair under her bonnet and green eyes. She looked nice enough.

"Hello, there. Who might you be?"

"My name is Kurt Hummel. I live just over that hill with my pa. Who are you?"

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Kurt. My name is Pam Anderson. My husband, son and I just moved her from Mankato. I actually think my son is about your age. How old are you?"

"I'm 14 years old."

"He's not too much older than you then. Blaine just turned 15."

Kurt felt himself bubbling with excitement. He hadn't had anyone live this close before and now he might get a friend.

"Really?! Is he here so I can meet him?"

"I don't know where he is, actually. He's probably running around with the dog somewhere trying to avoid us. He wasn't too happy about coming here but I'm sure he'll love it. But he'll be in school tomorrow. Maybe I'll tell him about you so he can meet you."

"That would be wonderful! I'll even walk with him if he wants."

"We are actually going to take him into town ourselves. We have some shopping to do and we want to meet your teacher. But I'm sure you can walk home with him."

"Sure! He can meet my friends, Laura and Mary. He can even sit with me at lunch."

"Pam! I need your help in here!"

Kurt heard a man with a deep voice calling from the house. Pam looked towards the house and then back at Kurt.

"It was nice meeting you, Kurt. I hope to see you again."

She got out of the wagon and walked into the house. Kurt couldn't wait to tell his pa so he ran the rest of the way home.

He ran inside his house and closed the door. He didn't even wait before he started speaking.

"Pa! There's a new family that moved into the old Edwards home. They have a son my age and he's going to school tomorrow. I didn't meet him though. I met his mom though and she is wonderful. I think I'm going to be friends with this boy and he and I can play and go fishing together and become best friends and-"

Kurt stopped talking when he saw his father with a bottle in his hand. It wasn't empty but half of it had already been drunk. Kurt gulped and started slowly backing away.

"Where have you been, boy? You're late."

"I...I was just running late from school and then I stopped by to talk to the new family. I'm sorry, Pa."

"I told you to come straight home, didn't I?"

"Yes, Pa. I'm sorry...I didn't realize it was as late as it was. I'll do extra chores to make up for it."

Burt Hummel walked towards Kurt who was now cowering by the door. Burt grabbed the belt he had laying on the table and continued towards Kurt.

"Pa...please. Please, don't. Just give me extra chores. And you don't even have to go fishing with me. I'll catch all of them for you and then I can skip supper. Please."

Kurt started crying knowing that pleading with his father was no use. He pleaded and begged at least 3 times a week and it never worked. He didn't think his scars were ever going to heal. He closed his eyes to prepare himself for the pain. The last thing he saw before everything went dark was his father walking towards him with a bottle in one hand and a belt in the other.

 **What did you guys think? Leave a review. :) I would just like to post a comment right now about the love I have for both Burt Hummel and Mike O'Malley and this is not at all how I want him to be or how I think he is. I also know that this was a really short chapter. All of my 1st chapters are because I'm just getting into the mindset of the story and I'm just establishing basic storylines. The chapters will get longer, I promise. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I hope you read the next one I have coming!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey! Glad you guys enjoyed last chapter and I hope that you will also enjoy this chapter!**

 **(Still don't own LH or glee)**

Kurt was running late the next morning for school. He walked as fast as he could to meet up with Laura and Mary. He slowed down his pace when he reached the old Edwards's place which was now the Anderson's. There was no wagon out front so Kurt assumed they were gone. It upset Kurt because he had wanted to meet the new boy. He sped up his pace again and ran to meet at the tree.

His timing was impeccable as Mary and Laura were just arriving.

"Hi, Kurt!" Laura ran towards him to give him a hug. "How was fishing yesterday?"

"Oh, it was great! My pa and I had so much fun. We caught enough fish to eat supper tonight too."

Kurt was starting to get really good at lying when it came to his home life. The truth was that Kurt didn't go fishing with his dad. After he got whipped by his father's belt, Burt had gone into town to go to work at the mill and he left Kurt at home with very strict instructions to stay in the house. Kurt didn't want to risk being beaten again so he listened. He ended up finishing his schoolwork and chopping some firewood. As much as he could, at least before the pain Burt had inflicted upon him became too much.

"That's great! Did you ask your pa if you could go fishing with me today?"

Laura and Kurt started walking behind Mary who hadn't stopped to talk to Kurt. Mary liked Kurt and she got along with him but because she was older than both him and Laura, she tended to feel left out of the conversations sometimes.

"Oh, Laura, I forgot to ask. I'm sorry."

"Do you think you'll be able to? We could go right after school and be back before supper."

Kurt thought about the whipping he would get if he came home that late after school.

"I can't do that. I'll ask if I can go fishing with you tomorrow. Okay?"

"Fine."

Kurt and Laura continued talking all the way to school. They talked about what they did the previous night and Laura's was more exciting. She had done her chores, played in the creek by her house and then rode her horse around her farm.

"I wish I had a horse." Kurt said.

"You can ride mine if you want. Bunny likes it when people ride her."

"Thanks, Laura! You're a great friend."

Before they knew it, the school building came into sight. They didn't even notice that Mary had gotten so far ahead that she was almost there.

"Come on, Kurt. I'll race ya!"

Laura started running before Kurt could agree and he hurriedly caught up with her. Laura beat him just as Kurt knew she would. They both sat down on the steps next to Mary. Neither Kurt nor Laura had a chance to speak before Mary was greeted by a school boy by the name of Finn Hudson.

"Hi, Mary! How are you?"

"Hi, Finn. I'm good. How are you?"

"Good. So, Mary. I was just wondering if maybe you wanted to go on a walk with me tonight. We could go through the woods and we can collect leaves."

"I can't, Finn. I've got chores and homework."

"What about tomorrow?"

"Maybe. I'm pretty busy lately."

Finn looked sad but determined. Finn had been in love with Mary for the last year and Mary knew it. She wasn't sure how she felt about Finn but she knew he was a nice guy. He was really tall and he had a crooked smile but Mary didn't know if she liked him the way he liked her.

"Come on, Mary. We could have a lot of fun."

"I don't know if I have the time. I'm a little behind on my chores."

"Finn, I have nothing to do tonight. I'll take care of Mary's chores for tonight and she can go on that walk with you." Laura said. Mary looked at her with a look of relief and anger on her face. Finn's face lit up, however.

"Really, Laura? You would do that for Mary?"

"Of course! I know that she would love to go with you."

"Great! I'll come to your house after supper then."

Finn smiled and walked away. Mary turned towards Laura.

"Laura! Why did you do that? Rachel is going to come and talk to me now and you know how much she talks."

"Because he has been wanting to do things with you for months now and you just turn him down. I think it would be nice for you to do it. Besides, I'm getting annoyed with him hanging around all the time."

Mary didn't get a chance to respond because Ms. Beadle came outside and rung the bell signaling the beginning of school. Everyone started running and gathering their books and lunch pales and heading inside. Mary and Laura took their spot next to each other on the 4th row while Kurt sat in front of them. He normally sat alone but today, the seat next to him was occupied by a boy he didn't know.

"Good morning, class." Ms. Beadle said. "Before we begin, I'd like to introduce you to our new student. Will you please come up here?"

The boy next to Blaine stood up and walked to the front of the class room.

"Class, this is Blaine Anderson."

Kurt looked Blaine over. He was shorter than himself by probably just a few inches and had curly black hair. Kurt couldn't be sure, but his eyes had the faintest shades of brown and green that were under thick eyebrows in the shape of triangles. He didn't look too happy to be there but he smiled at the class anyway. Kurt felt his stomach knot up. He was already intrigued by this boy and he couldn't stop staring. He noticed that Nellie Oleson, who was sitting a row over from him was starting and smiling at him. He felt a tinge of jealousy when he noticed.

"Say hello to Blaine, everyone."

"Hello, Blaine." The class said in unison.

"We're excited to have you here, Blaine and we hope that you'll be very happy here. Go ahead and have a seat."

Blaine walked down the aisle of desks and took his spot once more next to Kurt. Kurt noticed that Nellie still hadn't taken her eyes off of Blaine. Kurt felt the same way.

"Okay, class. Today..."

* * *

It was now lunch time and Kurt had never been less hungry. He hadn't eaten supper the night before but his stomach was still in knots and he didn't think he'd be able to keep the food down. His eyes were wandering over all of his classmates. Some were on the see saw, the swing or playing tag. The only one who didn't seem to be doing anything was Blaine. He was sitting on the steps of the school reading a book and eating a sandwich. Kurt plucked up all the courage he could muster to go and talk to him.

"Hi. My name is Kurt. I sit next to you." Kurt sat down next to him and made sure to keep a small gap between them.

Blaine looked up from his book up at Kurt and smiled.

"Hi! It's nice to meet you, Kurt. I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to speak to you this morning. I just didn't want to fall behind on my first day."

"It's okay. I actually wanted to try and meet you yesterday but you weren't around when I came by."

"You live by me?" Blaine actually closed his book and turned his whole body towards Kurt out of curiosity.

"Yeah. I live just over the hill. I have to walk by your house everyday to get home. I offered to walk with you this morning but your ma said no because she was going to come to town with you this morning. So maybe we can walk home together. I walk with these two girls Mary and Laura. They're really nice."

"I don't want to be a burden."

"Not at all. We'd love to walk with you."

"Thanks, Kurt! I'm really glad I met you."

Kurt felt himself blush and he felt the knots in his stomach be replaced with butterflies. He was going to respond but he was cut off by a girl with blonde curly hair.

"Hi, Blaine. It's nice to meet you. I'm Nellie Oleson."

She sat down making sure to put herself in between Blaine and Kurt.

"It's nice to meet you, Nellie." Blaine didn't seem as excited to meet her as he was Kurt...or maybe that's just what Kurt thought.

"My family owns the Mercantile right there. Do you want to come over after school? We just got some new candy in. You can have some for free."

"Oh, that's really sweet, Nellie but I have to get home right after school to help my pa get started on the farm. Maybe another time."

Nellie looked angry but didn't say anymore. She got up and went back to her place under a tree and continued eating.

"Is she always like that?" Blaine turned his attention back to Kurt.

"Worse. But you get used to it."

Blaine laughed and if Kurt had been standing, it would have made him weak at the knees.

"Oh no. I forgot my pencil inside. I'll be right back." Blaine stood up and walked back into the school. Kurt still couldn't eat but now it was for a completely different reason. He felt someone sit next to him and he knew exactly who it was before he looked up.

"Hi, Laura."

"You're talking to Blaine?"

"Yes, of course. He was sitting alone."

"Is he nice, Kurt?"

"Oh, very nice. You should introduce yourself. I invited him to walk home with us since he lives close to me."

"You did that? Kurt, why?"

"Because he's new. He doesn't know anybody. Why? What's wrong with that?"

"Because he's so handsome. I wouldn't know what to say to him. I'll sound dumb no matter what I say."

Kurt felt the jealousy boiling in him. He didn't know why either. Laura was his friend and now he considered Blaine to be his friend. What was so wrong in Laura liking Blaine?

"No matter what you say, he'll like you a lot better than Nellie."

Blaine never made it back outside. Kurt assumed that there was no reason for him to come back out since Ms. Beadle rang the bell only a few minutes after Blaine went inside. Kurt walked in with the lunch that he barely touched and went back to his seat. He sat a little too close to Blaine, causing their arms to touch, and his heart to start pounding. Blaine looked at him and smiled.

"I'll talk to you after school." He turned his attention to the black board that Ms. Beadle was now writing on while Kurt had a hard time keeping his hands steady.

 **Hey! What'd you guys think? Leave a review and let me know. I'm just letting everyone know that Rachel and Finn are the only characters from glee, aside from Kurt and Blaine, that are going to be mentioned in this story. So, I apologize if you were hoping to have more. I hope you enjoyed chapter 2!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey there! I apologize immensely for the delay. Hope you all are looking forward to this chapter. I have a lot planned for this story! :)**

 **(I own nothing)**

School ended just a few hours later and Kurt stood up, grabbed his school books and went to the back of the school to grab his lunch pail.

"Wait up, Kurt!" Kurt stopped and turned to look at Blaine. "I was thinking that if it wasn't too much trouble, maybe I could walk home with you. We live close together anyway."

Kurt got excited at the possibility of walking with Blaine and getting to know him better and possibly gaining a new friend.

"Yeah! That would be fun."

Blaine and Kurt walked out of the school building together and they saw Laura and Mary waiting at the bottom of the stairs. Kurt was a little surprised because he had honestly forgotten about them.

"Come on, Kurt." Laura held out her hand and waited for Kurt.

Kurt didn't grab it. Instead he looked at Blaine.

"Is it okay if Blaine walks with us today? He lives over by me and he still doesn't really know anyone."

"Of course! Come on, Blaine. Tell us all about yourself." Mary was the first one to start talking to Blaine as they headed home.

"There's not really a lot to tell."

Blaine somehow managed to get sandwiched in between Laura and Mary when they started walking. And though Kurt was still walking with them, he still felt a little left out.

"Do you have any brothers or sisters?" Mary asked.

"Yeah. I have a brother named Cooper. He still lives in Mankato with his wife, Alice and his daughter, Rose. We moved here to Walnut Grove because there was an outbreak of the plague in the town where we lived and my ma got scared."

"But your brother stayed there?" Kurt said.

"He wasn't as nervous about it as my ma was. What about you Mary? Laura? Do you have brothers or sisters?"

"We have 2 little sisters at home. Carrie is sick so she is staying home. Grace is just a little baby. So it's just us. Laura and I want a brother but Kurt is kind of like our brother though."

Kurt blushed a little when he saw Blaine look over at him and smile.

Mary, Laura and Blaine talked all the way to the tree and it was the first time Kurt had talked in almost the whole conversation.

"Thanks for letting Blaine walk with us. I'm sure he appreciates it."

"We're happy to. You're welcome to walk with us tomorrow on the way to school too if that's what you want." Laura batted her eyelashes and got closer to Blaine. Kurt didn't know if he imagined it but he could have sworn he saw Blaine back away slightly.

"That would be nice. You are all being so nice to me. You really don't have to."

"Our Pa has always told us that being friends with everyone can be hard but it's necessary. Besides; you're nice. We'll see you tomorrow, Blaine." Mary smiled and turned to walk away.

"Um, shouldn't you be walking with her?" Blaine looked at Laura while pointing at Mary.

"I'll catch up. I always do. So, Blaine are you going to walk with us tomorrow?"

Blaine smiled. Kurt felt an unusual burst of happiness at seeing it.

"Yeah! I'll meet you here."

Laura squealed and ran into Blaine to give him a hug.

"Great! Bye, Blaine!" Laura started running away when he she turned back to shout at Kurt. "Don't forget to ask your Pa about fishing tomorrow!" Laura turned around once more to catch up to Mary.

Blaine looked over to Kurt and noticed a frown forming on his face.

"Are you okay, Kurt?"

"Yeah. It's just...she didn't give me a hug or tell me goodbye. She always does that. It's fine though. I mean, she probably just forgot."

Blaine grabbed his hand and gave it an encouraging squeeze. Kurt trembled at the touch.

"Don't worry. I'll give you a hug for her and then she can give you a lot tomorrow to make up for it." Blaine smiled at him.

Kurt smiled back. "Okay."

"Let's go."

Blaine dropped Kurt's hand and started walking the direction to their houses.

"So, do you have any brothers or sisters, Kurt."

"No. It's just me and my Pa."

"What about your Ma?"

"She died."

Blaine turned pale.

"Oh, Kurt. I'm so sorry."

"Don't be. She died when I was a baby not too long after I was born so I don't even remember her. My Pa doesn't even talk about her. It's almost as if she never existed and I think that is what is the most upsetting. Is that I don't know anything about her."

"So do you and your Pa must be really close then."

Kurt paused. He had never been asked that before. He didn't want people to know the truth behind his abusive, alcoholic, unstable father but he didn't feel comfortable lying either. Especially to someone like Blaine. He really liked him and didn't want to give him any reason to stay away. Thinking about his Pa made him realize how much his back still hurt from the previous day.

"Yeah. Yeah, we do everything together. We go fishing and we go camping. He even took me hunting once."

"That's really cool! I hope to hear all about it one day." Blaine smiled at him again.

Kurt didn't want to tell the truth. His Pa had taken him hunting one time but it wasn't a fun trip. Burt had gotten extremely drunk and passed out leaving 8 year old Kurt to fend for himself for almost 2 days. He was almost attacked by many different kinds of animals and he hit his head and would have died if they hadn't seen Dr. Baker in time. Kurt was terrified of the woods now and tried doing anything to avoid them.

"Kurt? Are you okay? You look like you're going to be sick."

"I'm fine. I guess I just didn't get a lot of sleep last night."

"Well, here. Let's sit down." Blaine pulled him over to a rock and sat him down.

"No, really, I'm fine. We're almost to your house anyway which means we're almost to mine."

"Well, I might be a little selfish." Blaine sat next to Kurt. "I want to talk to you more which I can't do if we're not together."

Kurt felt himself blush and he looked down at the ground so Blaine couldn't see. His stomach was going crazy and he instantly felt nervous. He was scared that he was about to do or say something that would make Blaine want to stay away from him.

"Really?"

"Really. You're the first friend I've made here. And not only are you the first one, but I think you're going to end up being my best friend."

Kurt smiled at him. "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

"I really want to be a doctor. When I was younger, I got really really sick and I almost died. My parents had to quarantine me in our barn so I didn't get Cooper sick. The doctor never left my side for a week. It's because of him I'm still alive. I want to help people the way he helped me."

"That would be cool to do. It's nice that you want to help people. There should be more people like that. And I really want to find this doctor so I can thank him for saving your life."

It was Blaine's turn to blush this time. Kurt got excited to see it. There was something about Blaine that was absolutely adorable that intensified when the blush appeared on his face.

"What about you, Kurt?"

"I want to run my own store where I can sell clothes to little boys and girls that don't have a lot of money. And I want to make all of them myself. I want bright colors if I can."

"You sew?"

"Yeah. Growing up, if I ripped my pants, I had to know how to fix them on my own. I can't buy new pants so I just do it myself. I just want to do it for someone else."

"I like that idea. And I want to be your first customer."

"I'll have your shirt pre made. I'll make a dark green shirt for you. It will bring out the color in your eyes."

Kurt's eyes went wide. He hadn't meant to say that out loud. Blaine blushed deeper than he was before and he put a hand over his mouth to hide his smile. Kurt followed suit.

"Well...you look like you're feeling better. Let's get going."

Kurt and Blaine walked all the way to Blaine's house.

"Do I get that hug you promised me?"

"Of course."

Blaine pulled Kurt into a hug and they were just the right height that Blaine could rest his head comfortably on Kurt's shoulder and Kurt on Blaine's head. Kurt felt warm and protected. He felt more comfortable in Blaine's arms than he had ever felt in his lifetime. He didn't want to let go so he was upset when Blaine pulled away sooner than he would have liked.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Kurt."

"Bye."

Kurt watched as Blaine walked into his house leaving Kurt alone. He started walking to his own house and started wondering what it was like in Blaine's house. If Blaine's Ma and Pa were alcoholics that beat him when he did something wrong. Was he forced to cook supper every night because if his Pa wasn't at work, he was sitting by the fire with a bottle in his hand? Did Blaine go to bed every night in pain because the cuts never had time to heal? Was it just Kurt who suffered? Kurt loved his Pa. He wasn't even lying about that. But he did long for the day when Kurt could finally leave his Pa behind and not have to live in fear. If this had been any other day, Kurt would have dreaded coming home but he had something to look forward to. For the first time in his life, there was something in his life that gave him hope for a happy future: Blaine.

 **What'd you think?! Once again, I'm sorry for the delay. I recently got sick and I just haven't had then energy to write but I have a lot of time off this week so I'm hoping to do another couple of chapters. Hope you enjoyed this chapter enough to read the next one! :) Have an amazing day/evening.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey everyone! I hope you are as excited for this next chapter as I am! It's going to be a bit longer the previous ones so I hope you're looking forward to it.**

 **(I still don't own anything.)**

Kurt finally arrived to his house after his conversation with Blaine still in hype with excitement. He opened his door and saw his father sitting at the table. He didn't have a bottle in his hand, just a cup of coffee and a piece of paper. Kurt quietly breathed a sigh of relief as he closed the door behind him.

"Hi, Pa."

Burt looked up from the paper he was looking at and looked at his son.

"Hello. How was school?"

"School was great! There was a family that just moved in to the old Edwards place and I met their son today. He's already my friend and he wants to walk with me everyday!"

"I know. They left a note on the door this morning after you left. I guess I didn't make it to the door in time. They invited us to supper tonight."

Kurt tried as best he could to hide the smile that was aching to appear on his face.

"Oh. Are we going to go?"

Burt didn't respond. He just took a sip of his coffee and looked from his son to the paper.

"I don't see why not. They want us there at 6. You've met their son?"

"And his mom. I haven't met his pa yet."

"And?"

Kurt knew exactly what his father was asking. He wanted to know if they were going to be just as judgmental to them as the rest of the town was. With the exception of the Ingalls, no one really spoke to the Hummel's.

"No. They are the nicest people I've ever met. And Blaine is so nice. Funny too."

Burt took another sip of his coffee. It hadn't occurred to Kurt at this point that Burt was just using the coffee to try and sober up for the evening.

"Okay. Be ready by then."

Kurt turned around and smiled as he started walking towards his room. He was so excited to see Blaine again that he almost forgot to ask Burt about fishing with Laura.

"Oh, Pa?" Kurt turned around to face his father.

"Yes?"

Kurt took a deep breath. Even with his father sober, he still got nervous asking him questions.

"Is it okay if I go fishing with Laura Ingalls tomorrow after school? I'll be home early so I still have time to do my chores."

Burt's expression was unreadable. Kurt could normally tell what Burt was going to say but this was a mystery.

"Fine. But you need to be home by 5 to make supper before I go to work."

Kurt smiled at his father before turning around and going to his room. He put his books and lunch pale down on the bed and sat down. He was happy to finally be able to do something with Laura since it had felt like so long. His father's drinking habits were getting slowly worse and the worse it got, the less time Kurt was able to do things.

No matter how happy Kurt was to go fishing with Laura, he was 10 times more excited to see Blaine again. He felt genuinely happy with Blaine. He sometimes felt like he had to put on a happy face around everyone else but for the first time in forever, Kurt smiled genuinely with Blaine. Kurt tried to get his thoughts under control as he pulled out his schoolwork and did his best to concentrate which wasn't working very well.

* * *

Hours later, Kurt and Burt were walking to the Anderson home to head to supper. Burt was nervous since he hadn't met them and he was scared about what they would say and think about him and his son. Kurt was nervous for different reasons. He had made sure to comb his hair just a little more before leaving so he could make a good impression. Not for Blaine's parents but for Blaine himself.

Burt had been coming into Kurt's room off and on since he got home from school asking him questions about the Andersons. Kurt kept trying to tell him that he only knew what Blaine had told him but that his ma was really nice. Burt had even pulled out his Sunday best to wear this evening. Kurt knew it was only a matter of time before he would have a bottle in his hands so he was going to enjoy tonight as much as he could.

Kurt had been so lost in his thoughts he didn't even realize they had finally arrived at the Andersons. Burt knocked on the door and Kurt a distant voice that he recognized as Kurt's mother.

"James please answer the door. I can't let the roast burn."

The footsteps heading toward the door grew louder with each step until the door finally opened revealing someone Kurt could only call Blaine's dad. He was tall and had blonde hair and brown eyes. He was more built and had a small 5 o'clock shadow indicating he hadn't shaved today. Kurt thought he was as almost as handsome as Blaine. Just as if Blaine had heard Kurt's thoughts, Blaine appeared next to his dad.

"Hey, Kurt! Pa, this is Kurt and his father."

"Burt. Nice to meet you." Burt held out his hand towards the taller man.

"James Anderson." He accepted the handshake. "Please come in. My wife is just finishing up supper.

He stepped aside to let Burt in and looked at Kurt.

"You must be Kurt. It's only been a few hours but Blainey hasn't stopped talking about you. You must have made quite an impression on him."

"Pa! Don't call me that in front of company."

Kurt just giggled. He didn't know if he was giggling more at the nickname of Blaine's reaction to it.

"Blainey? Interesting!"

"That doesn't leave here."

"It's nice to meet you, Kurt."

James held out his hand and Kurt grabbed it and shook.

"Nice to meet you too. And it's not hard to like Blaine. He's really great and already my best friend."

Kurt looked over at Blaine and smiled when he noticed a slight shade of red appearing on his cheeks.

"Please come in, Kurt."

* * *

Burt and Kurt sat by the fire on the chairs offered to them while James and Burt talked and got to know each other.

"So what do you do for a living, James?"

"I'm a blacksmith. I found the one down in the town and saw that he was getting ready to leave it so I did a lot of talking with him and now I own it."

Kurt was looking at them but not really paying attention. He felt someone tap his shoulder and when he turned around, he smiled when he saw Blaine.

"Are you bored with their conversation?"

Kurt laughed.

"A little."

"Come outside. It'll be more fun out there."

Blaine held out his hand to help Kurt out of his chair. When he stood up, they walked towards the door.

"Ma, Pa. Kurt and I are going outside. Just yell when supper is ready."

James Anderson waved his hand to acknowledge his son as he sat down in the chair Kurt had just vacated. The last thing Kurt heard before the door closed was his pa telling Blaine's about the people in town.

"Thanks. I just have to hear my pa talking about being a blacksmith everyday. I didn't want to hear it again."

Kurt laughed again.

"That's okay. My pa doesn't really talk to a lot of people but when he does, he doesn't stop. So they might be talking for awhile."

Blaine sat down on the steps and patted the spot next to him for Kurt to join him which he happily accepted.

"Don't tell anyone, Blaine but this really means a lot to my pa. We don't typically get invited anywhere."

"Why not?"

Kurt looked away from Blaine.

"That's a story for another time. It's not important now."

Blaine looked confused but respected Kurt's wishes.

"That's kind of how it was with my family in Mankato. Cooper was dating Alice when they had Rose. They didn't get married until 3 years later and people didn't approve of that. They kept saying how they should have waited until they were married or older. Cooper made one mistake. Just one. And it was a big enough mistake that everything he did after that was apparently "bad." It didn't matter how many great things he did. He was outcasted just because he had a baby."

Kurt covered his mouth with his hand.

"Oh my. That's so sad. If all of that happened, why did he stay in Mankato?"

"Cooper has never been one to back down from a fight. I can remember so many times where he came home with black eyes from fights at school. He told me that he wants to stay in Mankato so he can show everyone that he's not afraid of them. I think he's crazy but it's his life."

Kurt didn't know what to say. He wanted to be brave like Cooper and show everyone in Walnut Grove that he isn't going to let them bring him down but he wanted to be far away from everyone that made it their mission to make his life miserable.

"But enough about Cooper. Tell me about that Nellie girl."

Kurt felt anger and jealousy burning inside of him. If Blaine wanted to like someone, that was fine. But why, of all people, did he have to choose to like Nellie?

"What about her?"

"Well, is she always as annoying as she was today?"

Kurt laughed out loud and couldn't seem to stop. Blaine laughed along with Kurt.

"Blaine, that was the funniest thing you could have ever said." Kurt wiped a tear from his eye that had formed from laughter. "Yes. She actually gets worse when you get to know her. Her brother Willie might actually be worse."

"Oh, great. Well, I guess we'll have to get used to turning her down, right?" Blaine smiled and Kurt tried his best to ignore the butterflies that weren't only in his stomach but all over his body.

"You don't like her?"

"She's not the type of person I'm interested in." Blaine started playing with his hands.

"Who are you interested in?"

Blaine opened his mouth to say something but was silenced when the door opened to reveal Blaine's mom.

"Supper's ready. Come inside. It's lovely to see you again, Kurt!"

She turned around and walked back inside. Blaine made the first move. He stood up and walked to the door.

"Come on, I'm starving."

* * *

Dinner ended too soon for Kurt's taste. It was delicious and Kurt was having so much fun with someone other than Burt. And he just couldn't spend enough time with Blaine. He had only really known him for a day but he already cared deeply for him.

The sound of hearing Burt clear his throat brought his mind out of his thoughts, but not his heart.

"They seem nice."

"I think so too, Pa."

"Their boy, Blaine. He's a good boy."

Kurt was grateful it was dark so Burt couldn't see the smile that formed on his face.

"I agree."

"If you want to bring him round our house, that would be okay."

"Okay, Pa. Thanks."

They walked the rest of the way home in silence which was okay with Kurt. He was afraid he wouldn't be able to hold back his thoughts and feelings on Blaine if they kept talking about him. When they finally arrived home, Kurt immediately started heading towards his room. He figured he should probably remind Burt about fishing with Laura tomorrow just in case he decided to pick up a bottle tonight and forget about it.

"Pa? I just wanted to remind you that I'm going fishing with Laura tomorrow. I'll be home early though."

"Okay, Kurt. Have fun."

"I will. Goodnight, Pa."

Kurt went into his room and put his back to the door and whispered, "I love you, Pa."

This was something he did every night. He only said it when his father wasn't around because he didn't have to be upset that it wasn't said back. Burt couldn't not say it back if he didn't hear it said. This way, Kurt could still say how he felt without needing to be let down.

After Kurt got into his nightgown, he got into bed and blew out the lantern. He was tired and he had an early day tomorrow, but he couldn't clear his mind enough to sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, he was met with the sight and colors he would see if he were with Blaine in person. He knew it was silly to feel this way over a friend he had just met that day. Kurt couldn't believe it had only been one day because he felt like he had known Blaine his whole life. This was something Kurt had never felt with anyone. It was new...different. But it was good and Kurt didn't want to stop feeling this way. Little did he know, just over the hill, his new best friend was having just a restless night having the same thoughts as himself.

 **Hey! What'd you think?! Leave a review. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I had to have a chapter of Burt being the good guy for a little bit because I do genuinely love Burt Hummel and I wanted him to not completely be a bad guy. I don't know when I'll be able to update. I don't think I have a day off until May so I don't know if I'll have the time or energy to write but I'll do my best! Best wishes to all you wonderful people. :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey, guys! I tried to upload sooner but I haven't had a day off in a week and I won't get one for another week. So, I'm amazed I'm writing now. I hope you've been excited for this chapter.**

 **(I still don't own the characters...just the story)**

It had only been a couple of weeks since Blaine and his family had moved to Walnut Grove but Kurt and Blaine were already inseparable. They walked to and from school together, played at recess, ate lunch together, went fishing, and did homework. Kurt felt a little guilty because ever since Mary started dating Finn, Laura had felt a little neglected.

Kurt tried to include her as best as he could and he felt like he did a pretty good job. He included her when they went fishing and they all decided to go camping together once school was done. Kurt knew that Laura appreciated it and all three of them were starting to get really close. Kurt couldn't be happier.

Blaine was sick this Tuesday so it was just Mary, Laura and Kurt today. Kurt felt a little lonely without Blaine but he also loved going back to how it used to be just for a little bit. He really liked Blaine but he missed spending time with just Mary and Laura.

"So, Laura. Who are you going to ask to the spring dance Ms. Beadle told us about?" Mary asked.

"Oh. Well...I...I was thinking about...maybe...maybe asking Blaine."

Kurt's stomach tightened with knots over jealousy. Of course, it wasn't his place to say who Blaine and Laura could and couldn't spend time with but that didn't mean it didn't hurt.

"I'd hurry then. I heard Nellie wanted to ask him too. But I'm not surprised. She's been wanting to go out with him since he moved here."

Kurt's knots tightened even more. Laura dating Blaine he could handle but he would not settle for Nellie dating him. He would have to put his foot down. No way would he let Blaine date Nellie Oleson.

"She's not going with him." Laura said. "She asked him but he said no. I heard her talking about it at lunch today. She was very angry. Apparently, she asked him and he said, 'That's very sweet, Nellie but I actually really like someone else. I wouldn't feel right going with you.'"

Kurt didn't think the knots could get any tighter but they did. Blaine really liked someone else and it wasn't him. Who was it though? The more Kurt thought about it, the more he realized that the only girl in school he would be okay with Blaine dating, was Laura. And he didn't even want him to date Laura anyway.

"What about you, Kurt?" Mary asked. Are you going to ask anyone?"

"No. I don't think I'm going to go." Kurt spoke the truth. He didn't want to go unless he went with Blaine and he couldn't ask Blaine.

"Why not? You have to come. Everybody in town is going to be there." Laura said.

"I just don't like dancing. Plus, my pa isn't going and I don't want to go without him."

Kurt couldn't deny that he felt slightly guilty about using Blaine. He did genuinely like Blaine but the more Blaine came over to his house, the less Burt drank. He didn't want anyone to know about his dad's problems so if he could bring Blaine over, then it might save both Burt and Kurt's lives. Kurt let a small smile over his face when he realized that all of his marks had finally healed since he hadn't received any new ones in weeks.

"But it'll be so much fun, Kurt!" Laura nudged him.

"But there's really no one I would want to go with." Kurt lied.

"Well, even if you don't go with anyone, you should still come."

"I'll think about it."

* * *

 _One week earlier._

Blaine and his family had been invited to dinner at the Oleson's and his parents had graciously accepted. That's how Blaine found himself wedged between Nellie and Willie with Nellie staring at him and batting her eyelashes. It made Blaine uncomfortable. Not just because he could barely move but because he didn't like the looks Nellie was giving him.

"So, tell me, Mrs. Anderson. What brings you and your family here to Walnut Grove?" Harriet asked Blaine's mom with so much exaggeration in her voice that even Blaine could tell she was trying to make a good first impression.

"Well," She looked nervous. She didn't know Blaine had told Kurt about Cooper so the best of her knowledge, no one knew. "Blaine is a very bright boy and I wanted to move somewhere I thought he could grow better. The school in Mankato was too easy for him. And our little Blaine here is smart."

"Oh, I'm sure you are, Blaine. And handsome too." Nellie put her arm through Blaine's and moved closer to him which Blaine didn't think was possible.

"That's true. Your little Blaine is quite the handsome fellow. Nellie keeps telling me that all of the girls at school are just chasing after him." Harriet said.

"Harriet..." Nels, her husband bowed his head, embarrassed for himself because of his wife.

"No, it's true, Pa. Everyday when Blaine goes to eat lunch, all of the girls are staring at him and it's gross." Willie said with a mouth full of food.

"I'm sure Blaine enjoys it though." Harriet laughed.

"Actually, not really. I don't really like being stared at."

Nellie, instead of getting the hint just moved her head even closer to Blaine. Blaine's mom, noticing how uncomfortable he was, tried to change the subject.

"Oh, Mrs. Oleson! I see you have a piano!"

"Oh, yes. Our little Nellie here is quite the talent. Nellie, dear, would you like to show young Blaine here?"

"Of course, mother."

Nellie finally removed her arm from Blaine's and walked over to the piano and sat down, everyone else except for Willie walking behind. He stayed at the table to continue eating. Everyone sat down on the couches and chairs while Nellie put her hands to the keys.

Blaine's eyes went as big as china plates. This was the worst noise he had ever heard. He couldn't believe that anyone would ever call this music. Harriet was smiling with a proud look on her face but Nels looked embarrassed for his daughter...and Blaine couldn't blame him.

She didn't play long but Blaine felt like it went on forever. When she finally stopped playing, Harriet started the applause. The only reason Blaine joined was because he didn't want to be rude. Blaine knew his mother well enough to know that she was lying through her teeth when she said,

"That was just wonderful Nellie! Very good."

Blaine chuckled to himself. Because he knew she was actually thinking, "Thank God you're done playing. My ears may never recover." And Blaine had to agree.

"You know," his mom continued. "Blaine plays the piano too. The church in Mankato had a church and Blaine learned how to play. I'm so sad that he doesn't have one anymore because he loved it so much. He was very good at it too."

"Can we hear you play, Blaine? Please?" Nellie put her hands together and pouted her lips. Blaine almost said no but he saw his mom giving him an encouraging smile and then he couldn't refuse.

"Okay, I guess. I haven't played in a long time though so I might be a little rusty."

Blaine got up off his place on the chair and walked to the piano. He sat down and took a deep breath. He hadn't really ever had an audience and he used to just play for fun in Mankato. He closed his eyes and put his hands to the keys and immediately, everyone disappeared. He started playing the melody he had made up in his head not too long after he met Kurt...he had just never put it to music.

He pictured Kurt's blue eyes and brown hair as he let his fingers flow over the keys. He thought of Kurt's smile and laugh as he kept his eyes closed and smiled. Kurt was so special to him and he had never been happier to have someone in his life. All too soon, Blaine was done playing and he heard the clapping coming from behind him. Blaine was hugging his mom and didn't hear Nellie turn to Harriet and say...

"I want to marry him, Ma."

* * *

A week after Blaine went to dinner with Nellie and her family, Ms. Beadle announced a spring dance that the entire town was going to be able to go to.

"Make sure you bring someone special because you're going to want someone to dance with."

All the girls in school expressed their excitement through cheers while the boys hung their heads and complained. Blaine turned to Kurt.

"Are you excited?"

"Not really." Kurt responded. He didn't look at Blaine though. Every time he looked at him, he seemed to lose his train of thought.

"Why not?"

"Because I don't like dancing. Besides, I don't know who I would take." Only then did Kurt get the courage to look Blaine in the eye.

"Me too. But I'm still going to go. Come on, come with me."

Kurt's heart soared. He know Blaine didn't mean it like that but he still got excited.

"I'll think about it. How about that?"

Blaine put his hands up in the air.

"That's all I'm asking."

Blaine gave Kurt's arm a little nudge as he turned his attention back towards Ms. Beadle who had almost the whole class under control.

* * *

That same day at lunch, Blaine was sitting on the steps to the school eating his sandwich. He happened to be watching a certain boy with brown hair who had left Blaine to go and play marbles with Laura when he heard the familiar voice of a girl with blonde hair.

"Hi, Blaine! Do you mind if I sit with you?"

Blaine took a deep breath to prepare himself.

"Sure, Nellie."

Nellie sat down next to Blaine, a little closer than necessary.

"So, Blaine, I was just thinking about the dance Ms. Beadle was talking about. She told us to bring someone special. Ever since you and your family came over for supper, Ma and I have been talking about you. She would like you to come over more. And I think you're someone special. So would you like to come to the dance with me, Blaine?"

Blaine sat next to her looking dumbfounded. He could truthfully say that he wasn't expecting to be asked by anyone, let alone Nellie.

"Oh...um...That's very sweet, Nellie but I actually really like someone else. I wouldn't feel right going with you."

Nellie's expression looked angry. Blaine was a little surprised since he was expecting sad.

"What? I thought you and I had something special. Who is she? Who do you like?"

Blaine bit his lip to keep from screaming at her. He couldn't tell anyone...he couldn't.

"It's no one. You're very sweet, Nellie but it just wouldn't be very nice of me to go with you when I like someone else."

Nellie stood up and put her hands on her hips.

"I will be watching you. I will find out who she is because, believe me, I'm so much better than her."

Blaine watched as Nellie stormed away. He only felt slightly guilty. He did feel bad hurting her feelings but he was relieved and he was secretly hoping that this would keep her away from him for awhile. Blaine didn't want to tell anyone about this...especially Kurt. He decided it was best to keep it to himself as he went back watching the boy win another marble. Kurt smiled, which in turn, made Blaine smile. Moving here was the best thing to ever happen to him.

 **What did ya'll think?! Leave a review and tell me what you think! I'm hoping to update at least one chapter a week but I don't know what my schedule is looking like so I'm going to try and make time. Have a wonderful whatever time of day it is! :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys! I got super excited to continue writing when I finally realized everything that I wanted to have happen. I've known how it was going to go with the story but the ending was having a hard time reaching me and now that I know how it is, I'm so anxious to write and see what you all think. So, please enjoy! :)**

 **(** **I still own nothing.)**

"Hi, Blaine. Can I talk to you?" Laura asked Blaine after school the next day.

"Sure, Laura!" Blaine smiled at her and Kurt ignored the butterflies in his stomach at the sight and turned his attention towards the ground.

"Is it true that Nellie asked you to the dance but you told her no?"

"Does everyone know about that? I feel like everyone in school came up to me today. Yes, it's true."

Kurt noticed Laura playing with her hands and her face turning red.

"Well, maybe...if you're not going with someone else...maybe you'd like to go with me?"

Kurt looked up at Blaine, awaiting his answer. He didn't know what he wanted to hear. He knew it would hurt Laura's feelings if he said no but he wanted to go with Blaine.

"Oh! Um...can I think about it and let you know tomorrow?"

"Sure. I understand. I mean, there's so many girls that would love to go with you."

"Oh, it's not that. It's just...I don't know if I want to go. I don't know if my ma and pa are going. If they aren't then I might not go. I'll let you know tomorrow."

"Yeah, okay. I just didn't want to go by myself. I mean, Ma and Pa will be there and Mary is going with Finn."

A silence fell between the three of them. Mary wasn't with them today. She and Finn had made previous plans to go for a walk after school today which meant that Laura would be walking the rest of the way home by herself and she hated doing that. Laura wasn't a disliked person but she really didn't have a lot of friends. Until Kurt became her friend, the only person she really talked to was Mary. And now that Blaine and Kurt were best friends, it got even worse. They finally reached the tree but the goodbye was quick. Kurt knew Laura well enough to know that she was upset, but Blaine didn't realize it.

"I'll let you know tomorrow, Laura. See you then?"

"Yeah! Yeah, of course. Bye, Blaine. See you tomorrow, Kurt."

She walked away without giving either of them a hug which wasn't normal for her. That's when Blaine seemed to realize that something was wrong.

"Is she okay?" Blaine asked as he and Kurt started walking home.

"Yeah. She'll be okay. She just likes you a lot and she thought for sure you would say yes."

"I wasn't lying when I said I would think about it."

"I just find it interesting that you said no to Nellie immediately because you liked someone else. But you didn't say no to Laura. Does that mean that she's the one you like?" Kurt didn't want to hear the answer but he didn't know how else to bring up the question.

"No. I mean, she's a very nice girl and she's my friend but she's not who I like...wait; did you just say she liked me?"

"Yeah. It's pretty obvious."

"I...I had no idea. I guess I'm pretty oblivious."

"Don't worry, you're not the only one. Well, if you didn't know she liked you and she's not the one you like, who do you like, Blaine?"

Kurt noticed Blaine's cheeks go from their normal color to a light shade of red.

"It doesn't matter because nothing is going to happen."

"Why not? If you like them, you should just tell them."

Blaine stopped making Kurt stop. Blaine looked him in the eyes.

"It's not that simple, Kurt."

"Why?"

"Because it just isn't. It's not right for me to like them. And that's why I told Laura that I would think about it. Because I might just say yes so I don't have to worry about not going with who I actually want to go with."

"Which is who, Blaine?"

Blaine opened his mouth to reply but started walking away.

"Just forget it."

"Oh, that's real nice of you, Blaine." Blaine stopped walking and turned to face Kurt again. "I'm only trying to help you. You know why? Because we're best friends."

"No one can help me. Just drop it, Kurt. I'm just going to go to the dance with Laura."

"Even though you don't like her?"

"I don't have to like her to go with her. She's my friend and I'm going to have fun."

Blaine walked away and didn't turn back when Kurt called his name. Kurt didn't want to be fighting with Blaine so he ran after him and grabbed his arm to turn him around. When he turned to face Kurt, he had tears running down his face but from anger or sadness, Kurt couldn't tell.

"Blaine? Blaine, what's wrong?"

Kurt pulled him into a hug and let Blaine cry on his shoulder. Kurt felt so happy and at home in Blaine's arms. There was a sense of calmness and familiarity there. So it was a little bit of a blow to the stomach when Blaine pulled away.

"Kurt, please just leave me alone. I don't want to talk right now."

Blaine ran away and there was no way Kurt was going to be able to catch up.

* * *

"Pa?" Kurt walked out of his bedroom to find his father sitting on his chair by the fire.

"What is it?" Burt replied. His words were starting to slur so Kurt walked on eggshells while speaking to him.

"I was just wondering if you were going to the dance tomorrow night? The one up by the Mercantile?"

"No. And you're not either."

"But why?"

"You know how I feel about the town. You know how they feel about us. You're not going."

"But...but Pa-"

"What did I say, boy?"

Kurt wanted to argue but he knew what would happen. Kurt was finally not in pain for the first time in his life and he wanted to enjoy it as long as he could.

"Yes sir."

Kurt went back to his bedroom and opened his school notepad. But instead of returning to his homework, he went back to a drawing on the last page; a heart with the words **Kurt + Blaine** in the center.

* * *

Kurt was oddly silent at school the next day which Blaine noticed.

"Are you okay?" Blaine asked at lunch.

"Yeah. I just didn't get a lot of sleep last night." He wasn't completely lying.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Blaine, I'm fine." Kurt responded a little crankier than he normally would have if he didn't have a lot on his mind. He almost felt guilty about the hurt look on Blaine's face.

"I'll be right back. I need to go talk to Laura." Blaine got up from his normal spot on the stairs as Kurt watched him walk over to Laura who was playing marbles with Willie Oleson. Kurt didn't hear what they said but Laura stood up with a smile and gave Blaine a hug. Blaine returned the smile and came back to his lunch.

"What was that all about?" Kurt asked.

"I was just accepting her invitation to the dance tonight."

Kurt tried to hide his heartbreak.

"Oh. Well...I hope you have a good time."

"Well, you're coming too, right?"

"No. I'm staying home with my pa."

Blaine frowned.

"Why? It's going to be fun."

Kurt thought about what he was going to say very carefully before speaking. He wanted to speak the truth without being obvious.

"Just because, Blaine. I just don't want to go. I don't really like dancing, I don't have anyone to go with and the last thing I want to do is watch you and Laura, my only friends in the world, dancing with each other while I'm sitting in a corner by myself."

Blaine opened his mouth but didn't look like he knew what to say.

"But-"

"No. Just leave me alone, Blaine." Kurt got off the stairs and walked to go sit on a log and finish his lunch by himself.

* * *

The walk home was only exciting for Laura who was talking away about the dance tonight. Kurt and Blaine weren't really listening but they kept nodding when they thought they should. Even if they hadn't been, Kurt was convinced she wouldn't have noticed. She was too excited so when they reached the tree, she jumped into their arms to give them hugs.

"I'll see you both tonight! Goodbye!" She turned and ran away.

Kurt didn't even wait for Blaine as he turned and walked away to start going home. He didn't get too much of a head start so he wasn't surprised when he felt Blaine's arm against his.

"Did you hear that? She thinks you're coming tonight."

"Well, she's mistaken. Like I said, I'm not going."

"Kurt, you not having anyone to go with is not an excuse. You can dance with me and Laura."

"No."

Blaine grabbed his arm to stop him from walking.

"Kurt, why don't you tell me what's really going on?"

"Why? You didn't yesterday."

"Me not telling you who I like isn't a big deal. Those things are meant to stay secret."

"So is this."

Kurt tried to throw his arm from Blaine's grip but he was too strong.

"Let go of me, Blaine."

"No. Not until you tell me what's wrong."

Kurt started struggling against Blaine. They both used so much force against each other their school things went flying out of their grasps.

"Great, Blaine. Look what you made me do." Kurt bent down after Blaine released his grasp and started picking up his school supplies.

"It wasn't my fault. You were the one pushing me to try and get me off."

"Well, you were the one who had a hold on me in the first place."

"Because you're keeping secrets from me and I don't think friends should do that, Kurt."

"You are too! You're not the only one who likes someone that you shouldn't. But I'm not the one turning down a lot of girls just at the hope of being with them."

"Well, maybe if girls asked you, you would." Blaine put his hand over his mouth and Kurt saw as his eyes filled up with tears. "Kurt, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean that."

"Yes you did. Now I know what you really think of me. You think I'm someone that can't be loved. Well, maybe you're right. You don't actually like me, do you? You are just pretending to my friend because your ma told you to, right?"

"No! That's not it at all. I swear, I didn't mean to say that, Kurt. You're my best friend."

"It's okay, Blaine. You don't have to pretend anymore. I'll just leave you alone then, shall I?" Kurt turned around and ran as fast as he could to his home with tears pouring down his face. When he finally got home, he didn't even check to see if Burt was there, he just ran to his room and slammed the door. He ran to his bed and buried his face in his pillow as he let the tears fall more as he let his thoughts overtake him.

 _It's not like he would have like me back anyway. No one would like you...ESPECIALLY him. You're broken. You're not supposed to like him that way anyway...now you can fix yourself. You can be normal now and find a nice GIRL like you're supposed to in the first place. Just forget all about him._

Kurt knew deep down that his thoughts were right. Blaine wouldn't like him...because Blaine wasn't broken. Blaine was right; no girl would ever like him. Kurt started thinking about all of the girls at school. Surely one of them would catch his interest enough to make him forget about Blaine. He knew that was almost impossible but he had to try. He decided to start small and rip up his drawing. He sat up on his bed and got his school pad out. He opened it to the page it was on and dropped it. He took a breath so loud, he thought for sure his pa would hear it and his eyes went so wide, Kurt thought for sure they would pop out of his head.

 _Oh no!_ Kurt thought. _This is Blaine's._

 **What did you guys think?! Leave a review. :) I was going to write more but I decided that this would be an interesting place to end it. ;) So the next chapter will be what I had planned for the rest of the chapter. I know I normally update on Saturday's so I'm sorry that this is a day late but you guys are the best for waiting. Until next chapter, I hope you have the best week.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey everyone! I'm so sorry about the delay. I was really struggling with this chapter trying to figure out where I wanted it to go but I think I got it. I hope you enjoy!**

 **Trigger warning: This chapter will have graphic details in the abuse that Kurt gets at home so if that is a problem for you, please do not read after the first chapter break to the second.**

 **(I own nothing)**

"Hey, Kurt! Why didn't you wait for me this morning?" Blaine yelled as soon as he caught up to Kurt the next morning. "I know you were mad at me but I didn't think you were that mad."

"I'm not mad anymore, Blaine. I was just in a hurry, is that alright?" Kurt was a little bit snarky and he felt a little guilty about the obvious hurt on Blaine's face.

"Kurt...did I do something wrong?"

Blaine put his hand lightly on Kurt's back and noticed him flinching.

"Kurt, are you okay?" Blaine removed his hand.

"Yes, Blaine, I'm fine."

They continued walking in silence.

"So..." Blaine asked. "What did you do last night?"

Kurt inhaled and forgot to release it. He couldn't let Blaine know the truth...so he lied.

"Good. It was good. I made dinner for my pa, he went to work and then I did homework. How was the dance?"

"Good. Good. Laura's Pa played the fiddle for a few songs."

Kurt stayed silent, but only for a moment.

"Oh, Blaine. Um..." He gulped and took a deep breath. "Before I forget, I have your notebook. I guess I accidentally grabbed yours. I hope you don't mind, I took a page out so I could do my school work."

"Yeah, I noticed that when I got home. I did the same thing so it's okay. I kind of realized when it said your name on the front page." Blaine grabbed Kurt's book from his pile of book and handed it to him, hiding his face so Kurt couldn't see. Blaine's voice was steady so maybe he didn't see the drawing?

Kurt meant to open his mouth to say something, though he didn't know what, when he was bombarded with a hug from Laura.

"Hi! Kurt, I missed you last night."

"Hi, Laura. Where's Mary?" Kurt asked.

"She fell behind. I ran pretty much the whole way here so I could talk to you. How come you didn't come yesterday?" She asked as they continued the walk to school.

"Oh...I had a lot of chores. And then by the time I was finished, it was supper time and I still hadn't done my school work."

"Well, maybe next time. You can come with me next time."

"What about Blaine?"

Kurt immediately noticed the awkwardness between the two of them. Blaine had a guilty look on his face and was looking at the ground. Laura got a sad look on her face and her eyes filled up with tears.

"What did you do last night, Kurt?"

* * *

Kurt paced around his room, running his fingers through his hair, not knowing what to do.

 _Blaine is going to see it! He's going to know that I like him and then he's going to give me a beating. He's going to think I'm a freak and tell the whole town._

Kurt didn't know what else to do but cry. But cry for what? Kurt didn't know. Cry because of the argument he and Blaine just had so now he was fighting with his best friend? Cry because his pa wasn't going to let him go to the dance? Cry because Blaine will find out everything Kurt had tried to keep hidden? Kurt didn't care. He just fell to his pillow and let the tears pour down his cheeks and let them land on his pillow.

Kurt didn't know how long had passed. Hours, maybe? It didn't matter. Kurt had cried almost all the tears he could and was just starting to feel slightly better when his door banged open. He sat straight up in his bed and looked at the figure that was his father in the doorway.

"H-h-h-hi, Pa." Kurt mustered out with the most silent of whispers.

"Where is supper, Kurt?"

"I...I forgot to make supper, Pa."

Burt took a few steps into his son's bedroom while Kurt got off his bed and backed up as close to the wall as he could.

"You know I have to be to work, boy. Do you expect me to go to work and work all night on an empty stomach? Huh?"

Every word he spoke, he got a little closer to the boy crying against the wall.

"N-n-no, Pa. I can...I can see if we have any bread and I can make you sandwich."

"Well, it's too late now, isn't it? If I have to wait for you to make me something, I'm going to be late for work. Why are you so stupid?"

Burt was now standing in front of his son, who was now cowering as close to the corner of his room as he could get. Burt placed his hands on Kurt's shoulders, hard enough that it hurt, and started shaking him back and forth.

"Why don't you start making yourself useful, huh?"

Kurt couldn't move his arms. Burt had them gripped too tight. Even if he hadn't, Kurt was too afraid to try and stop him. Kurt watched with wide eyes as he saw his father's hand raise in the air. Kurt fell to the floor when Burt's hand connected with his cheek. Kurt continued to let the tears fall as he heard the familiar sound of metal, signaling the belt being moved around. Kurt raised his head as much as he could and looked his father in the eye.

"Pa...Pa, please. I'm so sorry, Pa, please."

He screamed out loud as the belt connected to his back. He put his head back on the floor and let out a shriek as the belt came down hard for another five strikes, covering his back in six painful lashes.

He heard his father leave, not just his room, but the house as well. Kurt cried and cried until his head hurt. When he looked outside his window, the sky was dark and the stars were out. He lit his lantern and pulled out Blaine's notebook to start working on his schoolwork as best as he could, not wanting to mess up. He was still nervous about Blaine finding his drawing but as he felt the stabbing pains in his back, he realized there were worse things that could happen to him.

* * *

Kurt was keeping to himself at lunch, trying to avoid Laura and Blaine; Blaine especially. He didn't know why. Maybe it was because they were avoiding each other and he didn't want to get in the middle. Neither of them had told him what happened at the dance, and though he was curious, he didn't want to make either of them angry by bringing it up.

Even though he was avoiding them, he couldn't help but stare at Blaine as he sat on his regular spot on the stairs. Kurt tried not to look at Blaine but it was so difficult. Everything about Blaine was perfect. The way his eyes looked when the sun hit them just right. The way his hair always looked so soft. Kurt just wanted to run his hand through it but he knew he couldn't...and he knew he'd never be able to.

Blaine was eating his lunch without really tasting it. He had so much on his mind, he couldn't focus. He wouldn't have been able to tell you one thing Ms. Beadle talked about in school today knowing that something was definitely wrong with Kurt, Laura was still upset and having a lot to think about. Kurt being one of them.

No matter what he did, Blaine couldn't seem to get Kurt off his mind. The blue in his eyes haunted Blaine's every waking moment. His hair was always perfectly swooped to the side, and Blaine didn't know how it got that way. Everything Kurt did was perfection and Blaine knew that he would never be good enough for Kurt.

* * *

Blaine stood in shock after Kurt stormed away from him, looking like tears were running down his face. He didn't understand what he said that had upset Kurt so much. He picked up his books and walked as fast as he could to his own house. The wagon was gone so he knew his pa must still be at work but when he walked through the front door and smelled bread, he knew his ma was home.

"Hi, Blaine. How was your day?"

"Can't talk mom. I have a lot of schoolwork. Sorry!"

Blaine ran into his room and closed the door. He threw his books down on his bed and starting walking back and forth, unsure of what to do. He wanted to go to Kurt's and apologize, he wanted to go back in time and change what happened over the last few days. He was so lost in thought, he jumped a little when he heard a knock at his door.

"Blainey? Can I come in?" He heard his ma ask.

"Yes." Blaine sat back down on his bed.

His mother opened up his door and followed his lead and took a seat on his bed.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'm okay. It's just...Kurt and I just had a fight. I don't know what's wrong with him. He was a little distant all day today and then when I tried to ask him about it, he got really mad."

"Maybe he just didn't want to talk about it."

"Well, he said he didn't. But I tried to get him to tell me and...and he got really mad."

"Blaine...when you are upset and you tell us that you don't want to talk about it, what do your pa and I do?"

"You leave me alone until I come to you."

"Right." She moved her hand to his head and started running her fingers through his hair. "And I'm sure he'll do the same. Just give him the space he needs until he's ready to talk. He'll come around. I'm sure of it. He's your best friend."

Blaine looked up at her and smiled.

"Thanks, Ma! I love you." He leaned forward and gave her a hug which she returned.

"I love you too. Now go ahead and get started on your schoolwork. I'll call you when dinner's ready."

She stood up and leaned forward to give him a kiss on the forehead before leaving his room and closing the door behind her. Blaine put his pile of books on his lap and grabbed his notebook. He shifted on his bed causing his books to fall on the floor and his notebook to open.

"Shoot." He got to his knees to pick up his things when he saw something he hadn't seen before. He picked up his notebook to examine it further. He inhaled sharply and put a hand over his mouth. Staring up at him, in dark colors, almost as if it had been colored over numerous times, was a giant heart on the last page with the words **Kurt + Blaine** inside.

* * *

Kurt and Blaine hadn't said a word to each other since they recently left Laura at the tree. They walked in unison, not knowing what to say. Kurt eventually got tired of it.

"So...how was the dance? Really?"

Blaine looked up at him.

"Are you sure you want to know? You're not going to be happy. But whether unhappy at me or at Laura, I don't know."

"Tell me, Blaine. I want to know."

* * *

Blaine walked into the restaurant across from the Mercantile just a few short hours later, his mind still on Kurt's notebook. He didn't think it was real. He had even hit himself a couple of times to try and wake him up but to no avail. Blaine had been silent since he found it and didn't say anything at supper. He wasn't sure if he was even able to get words to come out of his mouth when Laura ran up to him.

"Hi, Blaine! I've been waiting for you. Come dance with me!"

Laura didn't even wait for him to reply. Instead she just grabbed his arm and pulled him out to where everyone else was dancing and put her arms around his neck. He had never danced before so he looked at the other men in the room and put his hands on her hips, by example, as they started swaying back and forth. Blaine looked around at everyone. Almost everyone in town was there...almost. The only person missing was the one person Blaine wanted there the most. His eyes landed on a familiar face and noticed that she was glaring at him.

"Nellie isn't too happy, is she?"

"She's never happy. I think she's mad that you chose to come to the dance with a 'country girl' instead of her."

"'Country girl'?"

"That's what she used to call me and Mary when we first moved here. It's okay though."

She stopped talking and Blaine didn't reply. It was a little awkward for him and he didn't know why. Laura was his friend and he talked to her everyday but tonight seemed different than normal. He felt her move a little closer to him and he took a step back. Slightly enough that he played it off as dancing.

"Blaine? Can I talk to you outside, please?" Laura asked.

"Um...sure."

Laura grabbed his hand and led him out the door. She walked him away from the restaurant to give them a little more privacy.

"Blaine, I have something to tell you."

"Okay."

"When I found out that you told Nellie you liked someone else, I was really upset because I was hoping you liked me. That's why I was so nervous to ask you to the dance. Because I was afraid you were going to tell me the same thing. Then when you told me yes, I got so happy because I realized that it must be me that you like or you would have said no to me too. Then I assumed that you said you would think about it because you didn't know if you would be able to handle being alone with me. Blaine, I think I love you and now that I know you feel the same, I would like to go steady with you."

Blaine let his mouth fall open. He was in utter shock. He honestly had no idea that Laura felt that way. He thought that all this time, they were just friends.

"Laura...I don't know what to say. Um..."

His words were cut off when Laura pressed her lips to his. He stood there, frozen, unsure of what to say or do. He managed to find the power to push her off of him.

"Laura, Laura stop! Please stop. Look, I'm flattered you feel that way but...you're not the one I like. I'm sorry. But I have really strong feelings for someone else. I actually think I love them. I'm so sorry, Laura and I hope that we can still be friends."

Laura's face was unreadable. She looked hurt but she also looked relieved. Angry and satisfied? His question was answered when she started crying.

"Laura..." He reached forward to grab her hand but she pulled away.

"No!" She turned around and ran into the night though Blaine didn't see where.

* * *

"She...she kissed you?"

Blaine blushed and looked at Kurt.

"Yes."

"Oh."

That was all Kurt could think of to say. He was angry at Laura but he couldn't show it without revealing his feelings. He was hurt at Blaine for hurting Laura's feelings but he was also relieved that Blaine didn't like her. The last emotion he could think of to have was complete and utter sadness for knowing that Blaine, not only liked someone, but loved them. And Kurt knew it wasn't and couldn't be him.

Blaine wanted to bring up the notebook but he didn't know how. Every time he opened his mouth, nothing would come out so he would just close it. Open, close, open, close. He was doing it so much, he was beginning to look like a fish. Blaine shot his head up in the air. He finally knew what to do.

"Kurt?"

"Yes?" Kurt looked over at Blaine.

"Do you want to come fishing with me on Saturday?" Blaine tried to hide his shaking hands.

"Yeah. I do. I'll have to ask my pa but I'd like that." Kurt smiled at him.

 **What did you think? What do you think Blaine is planning? ;) I am beyond sorry for how terrible I made Burt in this chapter. I absolutely adore Burt Hummel. He is one of my favorite characters but for the plot of the story, I had to make a terrible sacrifice. I'm going to try so hard to stick to my regular updating on Saturday's thing I had going on but my jobs are starting to get more hectic so I'll do the best I can. If I can't do every Saturday, I will most likely be doing once a week. I thank you all for the reviews and the follows and I can't wait for you all to read the next chapter! Best of love!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hi! I apologize immensely for the wait on this chapter. I've just been crazy busy. My jobs are kicking my butt, and I'm basically waking up, working, coming home and going to bed. And then I got sick but couldn't take any time off work so all of that happy shiz went down. Then, my computer battery died so I've been sharing my sister's with her and my mom. And then I was going to update it a couple weeks ago but then I went to San Fransisco to see Lea Michele in concert and oh my word! She's so amazing. I appreciate your patience though. It helps me more than you will ever know! So, please enjoy!**

 **(I own nothing)**

Kurt so often dreamed of a world where he could be happy just being himself. A world where he could smile genuinely and not have to worry being lonely. It was a world that Kurt knew only existed in his dreams but he came close with Blaine.

Kurt had been looking forward to today all week. Saturday had come to Walnut Grove in a sunny day…perfect for fishing. He was standing in his kitchen finishing up making some sandwiches, humming to himself when Burt walked out his bedroom.

"What's all this?" Burt asked.

Kurt jumped at the unexpected sound of his father's voice.

"Pa! Hi. I'm just making some sandwiches to take with me when I go fishing with Blaine today. Remember I talked to you about it?" Kurt was trembling slightly, unnoticed by Burt.

"When are you planning on going?"

"I'm going to be leaving in just a little bit to go over to Blaine's house."

"No you're not. You have chores to do, Kurt. I don't want you wasting your time fishing."

Kurt held back the tears he felt forming in his eyes.

"But, Pa. You said I could go. I already told Blaine I could. I'll be back before supper. I'll finish my chores then."

"Did you not here me, boy? I said you're not going."

"Pa, please let me go. Just this one time, please?"

"No! Now you go start your chores." Burt yelled.

Kurt felt his hurt turning into anger as he balled his hands into fists at his side.

"No."

Burt's eyes narrowed and his voice lowered.

"What?"

"I said no. You said I could go fishing with Blaine, so I'm going." Kurt turned around to grab his sandwiches and place them in his lunch pale. He turned back around to look at his father who looked shocked but still angry. "I'll be home later."

Kurt made it all the way to the front door and put his hand on the knob when he felt it being slapped away but the familiar hands. Kurt felt it stinging.

"You're not going anywhere."

Kurt looked up to his father who was now fiddling with his belt. Upon instinct, Kurt backed up and pushed himself into the corner. Burt finally had a hold on the belt and started walking towards the boy who was now cowering. He put his hand up in the air to prepare for the strike when he was met with Kurt's hands pushing him away.

"No! Leave me alone!"

Kurt ran back to the door and opened it, running the opposite direction of Blaine's house leaving Burt in the house looking confused, shocked and filled with rage.

* * *

Blaine had been waiting outside his house for almost an hour waiting for Kurt. When he didn't show up, he decided to just go over to his house and see if he was still there. He was walking for almost 10 minutes when he finally made it to Kurt's home, he stopped in his tracks. He saw the door wide open, with broken bottle in the doorway. Blaine ran the rest of the way until he reached the door and looked inside.

"Kurt? Mr. Hummel? Hello? Is there anyone here? It's me, Blaine."

When he didn't get a response, he walked inside.

"Kurt?"

Blaine looked around their main room and saw no sign of anyone home. He stepped inside further and walked to one of the doors still unopened in the house. He opened the door to reveal a small mirror and a bed with school books on it.

"Kurt, are you in here?"

"What are you doing here?"

Blaine gasped and turned around. He was met with the sight of Kurt's father standing in the doorway. He didn't look like Blaine remembered and he certainly didn't smell the same either.

"Hi, Mr. Hummel. The door was opened and no one answered so I just walked in. I'm sorry, I didn't know you were home. I'm sorry. I was just looking for Kurt. We were supposed to go fishing and he didn't come to my house like he promised."

Burt hadn't even acknowledged that he had heard anything Blaine said. He just stood in the doorway looking at him.

"Mr. Hummel? Are you okay?"

"I'm just fine, Blaine. Kurt ran off a little while ago. He ran in that direction." Burt pointed in the opposite direction of Blaine's farm.

"O-okay. Thank you, Mr. Hummel."

Blaine didn't know why he was inching around Burt who still hadn't moved from his place in the doorway. He was staring off into space not even noticing Blaine moving past him. Once Blaine was gone from Kurt's room, he ran out the door into the direction Burt said Kurt had gone and didn't stop running. He wouldn't stop until he found Kurt. Blaine had a bad feeling that something was wrong and he needed to find out what.

* * *

Kurt didn't know where he was running to. He just knew he needed to get as far away as possible before things got worse.

He ran and ran until his body couldn't take anymore. He looked around at his surroundings, and though he didn't recognize where he was, he knew he wasn't far from home. He could still distantly see the trees he often saw when he went wandering by himself. No matter how much Kurt tried, he wasn't very athletic and this moment in his life proved that. He saw a Willow tree not too far from him and went towards it to sit down and rest.

He leaned up against it and started crying. Why had he done that? Why did he shove his father? He knew that he was going to get the beating of his life when he got home now. He just didn't want to take it anymore. For the first time in his life, he was genuinely happy and just as quickly as it came, it was gone.

He was going to go home eventually, but he didn't know when. He ran far enough, he knew his father wouldn't find him…and maybe Blaine would. He hoped Blaine cared enough to look hard enough and find him. Kurt wanted nothing more than to cry on Blaine's shoulder as they wrapped their arms around each other and held each other close. Kurt cried even harder, knowing that would never be able to happen. Even if Blaine felt that way, which Kurt knew he didn't, he couldn't even imagine how everyone else would react. And his father…his father.

"Kurt?"

Kurt whimpered and sunk deeper into the tree and put his face in his hands.

"No please. Please don't hurt me."

He felt hands touch his shoulders and instantly Kurt felt comforted. Because he knew it was Blaine. And he knew it was because he was touched…he wasn't grabbed.

"Blaine."

Kurt let the tears fall harder as he wrapped his arms around Blaine and pulled him into a hug.

"Shh. Shh. It's going to be fine. Everything is alright."

Blaine returned the hug and pulled him in harder, running his fingers through Kurt's hair, trying to comfort the crying boy. He didn't try to ask what was wrong and he didn't try to get him to stop. He just let Kurt continue to cry and hug him. Blaine didn't quite know how long they were embraced but it felt all too soon when Kurt pulled away. It didn't seem possible, but Blaine could have sworn Kurt's eyes were bluer than they ever were before. He felt himself go a little weaker at the knees at the sight even though he knew the time wasn't appropriate.

"I'm sorry, Blaine. I didn't mean for our fishing trip to go like this."

"Are you kidding? This is exactly how I imagined it. Us under a tree, you crying and me having no idea what's going on. This is how all my fishing trips go." Blaine winked and nudged Kurt slightly hoping to see his breathtaking smile appear on his face. It worked momentarily before the smile disappeared.

"Do you still want to fish?"

"Only if you want to."

"I didn't want to in the first place. I'm terrible at fishing." Kurt gave a small giggle much to Blaine's delight. "I just thought it would be fun."

"Well, then," Blaine sighed as he stood up and held his hand out. "I vote we forget fishing and just go for a walk through the woods and talk."

Kurt's eyes grew wide.

"I…I don't like the woods."

"How come?" Blaine said, his hand still out.

"I just don't."

Blaine leaned down and grabbed Kurt's hand, pulling him up.

"I'll protect you. Come on. It'll be fun. We can laugh and share secrets and…I have something that I really want to show you."

"What?"

Blaine leaned in close to Kurt's ear and whispered. "You'll just have to come with me and find out."

Kurt trembled at how close Blaine was to him and was silent for too long before nodding and saying, "Okay."

Blaine smiled and walked with Kurt, hand in hand to the woods.

* * *

"I know I haven't lived here long, but I'm pretty I've come in here almost every day since we came here." Blaine said.

"I don't think I've ever come in these woods." Kurt responded.

"Why not? You live so close."

"Because I don't like the woods. I just told you this."

"Yeah but you never told me why."

"Why does it matter, Blaine?" Kurt removed his hand from Blaine's and faced him.

"I'm just wondering. I want to know everything about you, Kurt."

Kurt blushed and smiled at the ground.

"Really?"

"Of course." Blaine smiled. "Come on. I still have something to show you."

Blaine grabbed Kurt's hand again, this time intertwining their fingers. They continued walking to the location Blaine desired and sat down on a fallen tree. He looked down and started shuffling his feet.

"Kurt…you and I are best friends, right?"

"Of course, Blaine." Kurt answered confused.

"So…if I tell you something, do you promise you won't hate me?"

"Blaine, I could never hate you."

Blaine looked up at him and smiled the smile that made Kurt's hear soar.

"I'd like to believe that's true. But this is a huge secret and I'm scared to see how you'll react."

"I know how you feel. I have a secret bottled up inside me that I know would make a difference if I told someone…maybe even save my life but I can't."

"What are you talking about? Save your life?"

"Nothing. Really. So, what did you want to tell me?"

Blaine shook his head.

"No. You go first. Please."

"I can't, Blaine. You don't understand."

Kurt looked away. Blaine put his fingers on his chin and turned Kurt's head to face himself.

"Then help me to."

"Blaine…I…I did something bad to my pa. I pushed him before I left today."

"I see. I don't understand why that's as bad as you-"

"Because my pa will beat me when I get home for it." Kurt started crying once he started revealing the secret he had kept his whole life. "Pa drinks all the time. I don't think he's gone more than 2 days without a bottle in his hand since the day I was born. He beats me all the time. I think he blames me for Ma's death since she died just after having me. I try and do what he tells me to but sometimes I forget or I don't do it good enough and he beats me. I'm in pain all the time but I pretend that I'm not so I can seem normal. But…I love my pa. He's all I've got left and I need to take care of him. But I don't know what came over me today. I was just really excited to see you today so when he told me that I had to stay home, I told him no. I've never done that before. I always do what he says. He pulled out his belt to beat me for disobeying him and I just pushed him away. He looked so mad. When I started running away, I heard something smash and I knew it was a bottle. Then I heard him screaming that he cut himself and he was screaming at me to come back home and help him clean up. But I didn't…I just kept on running."

Kurt looked over at Blane and saw the tears running down his face.

"Oh, Kurt. I just…I'm so sorry." That was all Blaine could mutter before completely breaking down and crying. "I'm so sorry that's happening to you. You're too precious and pure to be put through that. And I swear to God, if I had known that was happening, I would have gotten you out of it a long time ago."

They pulled one another into a hug. Blaine was rubbing circles on Kurt's back but stopped when he felt Kurt flinch.

"Did he beat you there too?"

Kurt nodded.

"Can I see, please?"

Kurt was hesitant but nodded once again. He stood up and lifted the back of his shirt and heard Blaine gasp. There were scars and marks everywhere and a few lashes that looked a couple of days old, fresh on top.

"Kurt…I'm so sorry this is happening to you."

"Blaine, please don't tell anyone."

"But Kurt-"

"No, Blaine. I told you a secret and I want you to keep it."

Blaine had his mouth open, wanting to retort but he knew Kurt wouldn't accept it.

"Fine. I won't tell anyone."

Kurt gave sigh of relief, pulling his shirt back down and sitting back down next to Blaine. With the tears having stopped, Kurt grabbed Blaine's hand once more.

"What did you want to tell me?"

They heard a twig snap and they looked around, seeing nothing.

"It must have been an animal." Kurt said. "So?"

He looked at Blaine.

"Kurt, I'm in love."

Kurt felt the tears forming but refused to let them start falling.

"Oh? Who?"

"I wasn't lying to Nellie or Laura. I don't like either of them. Kurt…I don't like any of those girls at school."

"Oh, I see. You love someone from Mankato and you're going to move back there to be with her?"

"No. Not at all." Blaine whispered. "Kurt…I…I don't like ANY girls…" Blaine looked around making extra sure before looking back at Kurt, trembling. "I like boys…the way I should like girls…"

Kurt gasped. So he wasn't broken. He wasn't the only one who felt the way he felt. Kurt had thought to himself too many times that he was broken because he couldn't seem to feel the way for girls that the other boys did. He thought that maybe he was just delayed in his feelings. But then he met Blaine and everything made sense. Everything fell into place.

"You do?" Kurt whispered back.

"Go ahead and run away. Go tell everyone. I know this isn't right and-"

"No. No I won't. You are perfect just the way you are, Blaine Anderson. And do you want to know how I know that?"

"How?" Blaine said, barely audible, still looking down.

"Because," Kurt said, making Blaine look at him, "I'm the same way."

Blaine's eyes went so wide, Kurt thought for sure they were going to pop out of his head.

"What? You do?"

"Yes."

Blaine looked like he was about to cry, but from joy, Kurt could tell.

"Why are you crying, Blaine?"

"Because I've never been so happy. I've felt alone since I realized this 2 years ago. And now I finally have someone that knows how I feel."

Kurt couldn't help but smile. He had so many bad things going on in his life but looking at the boy in front of him, he would take every single bad thing if it meant keeping this one great thing.

"Kurt…I saw your drawing in your notebook…"

Kurt's smile faded.

"Oh no. Blaine, you weren't meant to see that. I…I don't know what to say. I'm so sorry. You must think I'm some sort of freak. I…I'll just leave right now. I'm sorry."

"No, don't leave, please. I just want to know what it meant."

"Blaine…I don't know. I just…I'm still trying to figure things out."

"Kurt…stop. Please just listen to me. When I saw the drawing…I first thought I was dreaming because I didn't think there was any way that someone as amazing as you would ever look at someone like me. I don't think I'm good enough for you. You're everything, Kurt. You mean so much to me. I just want to be with you all the time. You make me happier than I ever thought possible and being with you makes everything better. My life is so much better because of you. You move me, Kurt. And I just love you so much."

Kurt was speechless. He never thought he would hear those words from anyone, let alone from someone as amazing as Blaine. He knew and understood everything Blaine said because he felt the same way. Blaine just happened to brave enough to put it all to words.

"Blaine…I…I don't know what to say."

"Just tell me how you feel. Please?"

Kurt looked into Blaine's eyes and felt his heart pounding against his chest.

"I can't."

"Why not?" Blaine frowned.

"Because every time I look into your eyes, my brain forgets everything. Absolutely everything. I love you too, Blaine. That's the only thing I don't forget."

Kurt and Blaine had never smiled bigger. Their faces started hurting and they couldn't seem to stop.

"Kurt, have you…have you ever kissed anyone?"

"No…but I want to."

"Can I kiss you?" Blaine whispered.

Kurt nodded, unable to speak. He started breathing heavily when he saw Blaine's face slowly getting closer to his. He closed his eyes, waiting for Blaine's lips to connect to his. He didn't know what he was expecting but it certainly wasn't what he got. He felt his breath completely leave his body and he pushed back against Blaine's lips, not wanting to stop. They pulled away much too quickly for Kurt's liking but he saw that Blaine was just as out of breath as he was. Both of them let the smiles on their faces grow wider, which neither of them thought possible.

"Thank you, Kurt."

"For what?"

"For being the most incredible person I have ever met. And…the kiss didn't really hurt either."

Kurt giggled.

"I should really be thanking you. That kiss was amazing. And you're the best thing to happen to me."

"I love you, Kurt."

"I love you too."

They gave each other one more kiss before Blaine stood up and held out his hand.

"Let's go. I'd love to walk around more with you."

Kurt smiled and grabbed Blaine's hand, standing a little closer to him than before. They starting walking away, hand in hand from the boy who had been watching, unseen from behind the trees. Willie Oleson stood with his mouth open after witnessing the scene and ran in the opposite direction, heading back to town to tell Nellie what he just saw.

 **Leave a review and leave your thoughts on this chapter and your guesses on what you think is going to happen next! Once again, I am so sorry for the wait. I don't think I'm going to be able to continue uploading once a week as I was before but I promise to try and not have a delay this long again. Peace be with you all! :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**I am beyond sorry for the long wait. I know I said I would try and update as often as I could but my jobs have me so busy. I'm literally working from 7 AM until 2 AM most days. And then my sister's laptop started having problems so I couldn't use it. But it's sort of fixed now so I decided to write. I usually have Sunday's off so I'm going to try and write every week. I'm so sorry though and I hope you enjoy the chapter since you waited so long for it. I'm also going to try and write a longer chapter than most for having to wait so long. So, enjoy!**

It had been 2 days since Kurt and Blaine had confessed their feelings for each other and to their knowledge, no one else knew. But that wasn't the case. Willie Oleson did know. And now Nellie did as well. Willie had run home immediately after seeing Kurt and Blaine kiss and told Nellie and he had been all excited to tell the entire school about it. But he was shocked when Nellie told him not to.

"Don't tell anyone yet. I have a better idea."

* * *

After a fun walk with each other to the tree where they met Laura, that consisded of a few kisses and hand holding, Kurt and Blaine met up with the Ingalls' girls. Mostly Laura since Mary had walked on ahead.

"Hi, Blaine! Hi, Kurt!" Laura exclaimed as she ran towards them to give them a hug. She was a lot kinder to Blaine now that the dance was over. "How was your weekend?"

Blaine and Kurt exchanged glances with each other and blushed.

"It was great!" Blane was the first to speak up. "Kurt and I went fishing on Saturday and then I just did my chores and homework on Sunday after church. What did you do, Laura?"

"I went swimming with my pa and Mary and then we had a picnic."

"That sounds fun."

"Kurt? What did you do?"

"I…" Kurt hadn't known what to say. After the fight he got into with his father, when he got home from his outing with Blaine, he had gotten the beating of his lifetime. Hurting him so bad, it caused him to stay in bed almost all of Sunday. "I just stayed home. I had to help my pa a lot."

"I didn't see you at church on Sunday, Kurt." Laura said.

"Yeah. Pa wasn't feeling well so I stayed home to take care of him." Kurt lied.

Blaine knew what happened without Kurt saying anything. And it made Blaine so mad that he couldn't seem to do anything to help Kurt, even if he had wanted the help. Kurt had sworn Blaine to secrecy and he didn't want to do anything to betray the trust that Kurt had bestowed upon him.

The trio continued walking to school, Blaine and Laura carrying the conversation with Kurt nodding occasionally when it seemed appropriate. After arriving Laura was the first one to notice Nellie staring right at Blaine with a sneer on her face.

"What do you think is wrong with Nellie?"

Blaine and Kurt turned to look at her. She hadn't removed her eyes from Blaine.

"I don't know." Blaine shuddered.

"I know she really likes you, Blaine. Maybe she's going to try and ask you to be her boyfriend again."

Blaine saw Kurt look down and frown out of the corner of his eye.

"It's not going to happen. She knows I like someone else. And it's going to stay that way."

He turned and looked directly to Kurt, smiling. When Kurt looked back up, he smiled back and blushed.

"Just ignore her and maybe she'll go away." Laura said.

"I doubt it. Nothing can get rid of Nellie Oleson. If there was, I would have used it a long time ago." Kurt exclaimed.

"You know what, it doesn't matter. I've told her I'm not interested and that's not going to change. She can try as much as she wants." Blaine said as he looked back over to her, noticing that he gaze had moved from Blaine to Kurt. This time she had a glare. "What did you do, Kurt?"

"I'm sure something. Come on. Let's go."

Kurt continued walking towards the stairs with Blaine and Laura on the rear. Kurt sat down, Laura sitting next to him and Blaine next to her. They had decided on Saturday that they weren't going to draw attention to themselves. They had to act as if nothing was going on. If anyone found out, they couldn't even imagine the horrible things that would happen.

"Did you hear the Miss. Beadle might be giving us paired assignements this week?" Laura asked, breaking the silence.

"What? How did you hear that?" Kurt responded.

"From Rachel Berry. She heard overheard it from Willie. Apparently he heard her talking to Mrs. Oleson in the merchantile about it. I don't know if it's true. But if it is, I hope I'm partners with one of you. I couldn't stand being partners with anyone else."

"I agree. The only other person I could even stand being partners with is Mary but all she wants to do anymore is kiss Finn. She hasn't been as fun anymore." Kurt said, looking over at Mary who was sitting under a tree with Finn.

Blaine looked like he was about to respond but before he could, they heard the bell ringing behind them. They collected their things and walked inside. Once everyone was seated, Kurt sitting forward so his back didn't have to touch the seat, Miss. Beadle spoke.

"Good morning, class."

"Good moring, Miss. Beadle." The class responded.

"I hope everyone had a good and relaxing weekend because this week is going to be busy."

The glass groaned.

"Settle down. It's going to be a busy week but it's going to be a fun week. This week we are going to be learning about different types of plants and leaves. Everyone is going to be in pairs and together, you are going to find and collect differnet types of each and write about what they are and what they do. There will be a prize for the group that does the best."

The class was a bit more interested and excited knowing there was a prized involved.

"Excuse me, Miss. Beadle." Rachel raised her hand. "Will you be picking our partners or will we be picking our own?" She asked moving her eyes towards Finn.

"I will be picking your pairs. I have them right here and if everyone is ready, I'll read them off. Rachel Berry, you will be paired with Finn Hudson."

Rachel sat up straighter in her seat, smiled and looked directly at Finn who looked a little mortified. Mary on the other hand looked like she was ready to punch Rachel right in the nose if she tried anything with Finn.

"Laura Ingalls, you will be paired with Willie Oleson."

Kurt looked behind him and saw Laura with her head in her hands and he didn't even need to see her face to know how angry she was. He turned back around when he heard his name being called.

"Kurt Hummel will be paired with…" _Please be Blaine. Please be Blaine._ "Mary Ingalls."

Kurt shrugged. He was a little upset that he couldn't be paired with Blaine but he liked Mary and he knew that it wouldn't be difficult to work with her. He turned around and smiled at Mary which she generously returned.

Miss. Beadle went down the list of everyone in school and who they would be working with until there were only 4 names left; Blaine, Nellie Oleson, Carrie Ingalls and Jonathan Garvey. Kurt was shaking and crossing his fingers that Blaine would be paired with anyone but Nellie. He glanced over at Blaine and saw his fists so tight, his knuckles were turning white.

"Nellie Oleson, you will be paired with Blaine Anderson."

Kurt had to use every ounce of self control he had to keep from screaming. Of all the the people in the entire school, why had Blaine been paired with Nellie? He looked over to her and saw her sneering once more.

* * *

"Blaine! Wait up, Blaine!" Blaine rolled his eyes and took a deep breath before he turned around.

"Hi, Nellie." He said as nice as possible.

"Hi, Blaine!" Nellie said as she pushed Kurt aside, probably harder than necessary. "I was wondering if, since we're partners and all, that maybe you would like to come over to my house for supper and we could get started on the project."

"Nellie, that's so nice of you but I really have a lot of chores I need to do. I wasn't expecting to have to work with someone so I didn't plan to not do them tonight. Maybe tomorrow?"

"Nonsense! I'll come to your house and help you with your chores and then we can get started right away."

She looped her arm through Blaine's and moved closer to him, looking up at him with her batting eye lashes. Blaine was avoiding eye contact with her, as he tried to catch Kurt's eye. Being made difficult by the fact that Kurt was looking down.

"I…I don't know, Nellie. My ma doesn't know that anyone is coming over. I don't want to get in trouble."

"I'll take full responsibility for it if you get in trouble. Please, Blaine. I want to do a great job on this assignment and the only way that will happen is if we get started right away."

Blaine was conflicted. Even if he didn't particularly like Nellie, he didn't want to be rude to her. But he knew how much it would hurt Kurt if he accepted Nellie's invitation and he didn't want to see her hurt at all.

"Um…sure. I guess."

Nellie squealed.

"Great! I'll just run home real quick and tell my ma where I'm going. I'll be back in just a minute."

Blaine watched her run the short distance to her house for just a moment before he turned around to talk to Kurt. He didn't even have a chance to speak because Kurt beat him to it.

"Don't, Blaine. I'm not mad. She's manipulative and she's using that to her advantage. I know how you feel about me but I also know how she feels about you. I'm just scared what's going to happen."

"Kurt, I don't want to be with anyone but you." Blaine whispered so as not to let anyone else overhear. "Trust me. She doesn't mean anything to me."

"I trust you, Blaine. But I don't trust her. And I know that she's planning something. She wants to be with you and I just know that she's going to figure out a way to get you." Kurt's eyes filled with tears.

"Never." Blaine brushed a tear away from his cheeks. "You're the one I love."

Kurt's eyes widened. "What?"

Blaine opened his mouth to respond but instead, Nellie's voice was heard. Blaine turned around to face her.

"Blaine! Would you like some candy before we go? Ma said you can have some." She said as she stood next to Blaine's side again.

"No thank you, Nellie. Are you ready to go?" Blaine asked.

"Yeah! Let's go!" She put her arm through Blaine's once more and turned them around to head to Blaine's house. Blaine started frowing when he noticed that Kurt had ran far ahead already and had his head down. Blaine wouldn't have been surprised if he had been crying. All he wanted to do right now was go give hold him and tell him everything was going to be okay. But he knew he couldn't. Not yet. And maybe not ever…and that's what hurt him the most.

* * *

"Ma? I'm home!"

"Hi, Blainers. I'm in the kitchen."

Blaine blushed.

"Blainers?" Nellie chuckled.

"You are not to tell anyone that nickname." Blaine whispered.

Pam walked out of the kitchen dring her hand with a washcloth but stopped when she noticed the girl standing next to her son.

"Hi. I'm sorry, I didn't know Blaine had anyone with him. I'm Pam Anderson." She said as she walked forward with her hand extended.

"I know who you are. I've seen you at the Oleson Mercantile. I'm Nellie Oleson." She said, accepting. "Blaine and I were paired up in school to work on a project and he said I could come over. I do hope that's okay."

Blaine opened his mouth, trying to hide the shock of the sudden change of Nellie's personality.

"Yes of course. That's fine. I'll just be making some bread for supper if you need me. I'll let you know if I need anything, Blaine." Pam smiled at her son and glanced over her shoulder as she headed into the kitchen again.

"You can put your things on the table. We can head outside to the trees by my barn and start there."

"Great."

Nellie put her books on the table next to Blaine's and followed him outside. Blaine led her across his farm until they reached his barn. He walked to the beginning of the forest located just next to the fence where there horeses were standing.

"What do you say we start here?"

"Be quite for just a minute." Nellie said angrily.

"Woah. Um…are you okay?" Blaine asked backing away.

Nellie didn't say anything. Instead, she grabbed his shoulders and pulled him to her, placing his lips forcefully on hers. Blaine couldn't move for he was frozen in shock. When he finally came back to reality, he pushed Nellie gently away from him.

"Nellie! What are you doing?"

"You clearly know what I'm doing. I like you and I want to be your girlfriend. And you are going to be my boyfriend."

Blaine let his mouth fall open and didn't know what to say. Surely he just imagined what happened or just heard wrong. But he knew deep down he didn't.

"What? Nellie, no. That's not going to happen. You know I like someone else. And I know they like me too."

"It's not going to last, Blaine. You and I are forever."

"No we're not. You aren't getting this. I am not interested in you."

Nellie smiled at him and Blaine felt uncomfortable. Not because she was smiling but because of how she was smiling. Blaine knew she was plotting something and he was terrified to know what.

"Okay, let me try this another way." She took a step closer. "I AM going to be your girlfriend. And you ARE going to be my boyfriend. Or I am going to tell the whole town about you and Kurt."

Blaine felt his heart drop. How could she know?

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, please. I know all about the kiss you two shared the other day. I know everything you said. But when I tell everyone, it's going to be Kurt that kissed you. And it's going to be Kurt that expressed his feelings. That way the entire town will hate him and he'll be forced to leave Walnut Grove. I know how much you would hate that. Wouldn't you?"

"Nellie….please don't….please don't do that to Kurt."

"Be my boyfriend and I won't."

Blaine couldn't be Nellie's boyfriend. He couldn't. He loved Kurt too much and he had no feelings for Nellie whatsoever…Well, now he did. Now he had hatred for her that boiled inside of him just waiting to erupt. How could she do this to Kurt? Why was she doing this to him? He knew to keep Kurt safe this was the best thing for him but this would destroy Kurt. Kurt would probably never talk to him again. And if he did, it would be in anger and hate…but at least he'd be safe and he wouldn't be humiliated….

"If I become your boyfriend, you won't tell anyone about Kurt and I?"

"I swear. No one will find out."

Blaine sighed. He closed his eyes and pictured Kurt's face, with tears pouring down in betrayal. Blaine knew what had to be done.

"Fine. I'll do it."

 **Hey guys! I hope that was worth the wait! Tell me what you think! I'm hoping to update every Sunday now but please don't hold me to that. I just need to make a living and it's really hard so please bear with me. I'm very invested in this story and I love writing it so please don't think I've neglected it. Peace and love! :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey, guys! I live! Though you probably thought otherwise because of how long it's been. I apologize immensely for the delay. I have just been so busy. I was working about 80 hours a week between both jobs and then I used my little bit of free time to drive to Vegas (I live in Utah) just to see Chris Colfer promote The Land Of Stories: World's Collide. I just really love him. And then I lost one of my jobs and I wasn't in the right mindset to write but I'm still very invested in this story. I'm loving it. I don't know how much longer I'm going to make it but I'm going to make it as long as possible since I'm loving it so much. I'm going to stop talking now and let you read. Enjoy!**

Blaine woke up the next day feeling guilty. He and Kurt weren't even dating but he felt like he was cheating on him. He knew this was going to break Kurt's heart and he didn't want to tell him. But he knew he had to before he found out any other way. He was prepared for the worst. He was prepared for Kurt to hate him, or throw things at him and to tell him that he never wants to speak to Blaine again…and though it killed him to know, he knew he had to do it.

* * *

Kurt had gone home the previous day angry. He wasn't upset and he didn't cry. Kurt was done with crying. He had done enough to last him a lifetime. But he didn't know who he was angry at. Nellie, obviously but he did feel some anger towards Blaine and he didn't know why. He knew that Blaine couldn't stand Nellie but there was something about him being with her and not inviting Kurt to go along that made him mad. Was Kurt jealous? No. He couldn't be, right? There was nothing to be jealous of. He threw his pillow over his head in frustration now frustrated at himself.

* * *

When Blaine arrived at their usual tree, Kurt wasn't there but Laura was.

"Hi, Laura!"

"Hi, Blaine! How are you?"

"I've been better, thanks. How are you? Where's Mary?"

"Mary left early today to go look for leaves. She decided to get started now and catch up with Kurt later. She'll meet us at school. What's wrong?"

"I just didn't sleep well."

"Where's Kurt?" Laura asked curiously.

"I don't know. I waited outside my house for 10 minutes and he didn't show. How long have you been here?"

"I've been here for about 5 minutes. Do you think he went on ahead?"

"I don't know. Should we wait or should we go?" Blaine asked with a tone of worry in his voice.

"I think we should go. We don't want to be late."

Blaine reluctantly agreed. As he was walking with Laura, zoning in and out of the conversation, he kept glancing over her shoulder; anxious to see the blue eyes. He needed to talk to Kurt. He had to.

They arrived at school shortly after, Blaine not even remembering walking there. He only realized where they were when he heard the voice of his least favorite person in the world.

"Hi, Blainers!" Nellie said, looping her arm through his.

"I told you that you were never allowed to use that nickname." Blaine said, removing his arm from hers.

"Oh, hello, Laura. What are you doing with Blaine?" Nellie glared.

"We walk together every day, Nellie. Why do you even care?"

"I don't really want Blaine talking to you anymore."

"What? You can't tell him what to do."

"Yes, I can. You see, Laura, Blaine and I are together now. And I don't want him to be around you or any other girl…or even Kurt for that matter."

Laura's jaw opened so wide, Blaine was sure it was going to hit the ground. Her eyes, wide with shock and hurt, were looking back and forth from Blaine to Nellie. Nellie had a big smile on her face as she looped her arm with Blaine's again while he looked away shamefully.

"Blaine, is this true?" Laura whispered.

"I…" Blaine felt Nellie nudge his side. "Yes…yes, it's true."

"You don't like her. You told me that yourself."

"Things change, I guess." Blaine said, still avoiding eye contact with Laura.

"This has to be joke, Blaine. There's no way you're with Nellie."

"It's not a joke, Laura. Believe me when I say that this is the most serious thing I will ever do." Blaine said, making eye contact with Laura for the first time.

Her eyes looked more hurt now than ever as she stared at Blaine.

"Okay. Fine. If Nellie doesn't want me around you, then I'll just go away."

"No, Laura! Wait!" Blaine shouted.

But it was too late. Laura was already halfway to the school from the Mercantile. Blaine felt even more defeated than he did this morning. Now he had no friends. Nellie was determined to make him miserable by taking away the only people that he truly loved.

"That was not part of the agreement." Blaine said turning to Nellie. "You just said that I had to be your boyfriend. You didn't say anything about me not being able to have friends. And you especially didn't say anything about me not being able to be around Kurt."

"How is this going to be real if you're around Kurt and other girls all the time? You'll only like me if you're only around me."

"That's wasn't part of the deal."

"Do you want me to tell everyone? Because I will if you don't stay away from them." Nellie said, sneering.

"I hate you. I hate you so much."

"Not for long, Blainers."

"Stop calling me that." Blaine shouted.

"So, what is it going to be?"

Blaine sighed. He was starting to have a headache. But that wasn't anything compared to the aching in his heart.

"Fine."

* * *

 _Get up. Get out of bed, Kurt. You're going to be late._

 _But how? You can barely move. How do you expect to get to school in your condition?_

 _Well, you're just going to try. If you stay home from school, Pa will beat you harder than he did last night. Plus, do you really want to spend a whole day with him?_

 _No._

 _Then get out of bed._

Kurt had been in a battle with himself all morning. When he finally convinced himself to get up and out of bed, he almost cried out from the pain. He got out of bed, limping to his drawer, ignoring the stabbing pain in his head, back and foot. He knew he was going to be late for school no matter what but he wasn't upset about that. He had become in the habit of walking with Blaine and Laura every day and he was going to be upset about missing that.

He pushed through the pain long enough to get on his clothes. He grabbed his books and left this lunch pail on the table. There was no point in bringing it if there was no food to put in it. He opened the door slowly, pausing long enough to hear his father snoring, and left to go on the walk to school. He walked as fast as he could with the limp and tried his best to ignore it. He had to. He'd just tell everyone that he fell out of a tree. And that he hit his head after getting up. And no one had to know about his back.

He didn't even do anything to make his pa mad the night before. He was just sitting on his bed doing his schoolwork when his pa walked in, drunk as ever and started beating him. He had gotten 4 strikes to his back, had head thrown against a wall and he had hurt his ankle when his pa pushed him off the bed. Burt's alcoholism was getting worse and worse and Kurt was scared. Before, Kurt just had to do something wrong to receive a beating. Now, he was getting beaten if his pa had just one drink too many. He was scared that one day, his pa was going to snap and Kurt was going to get hurt more than he already did.

He took a deep breath and walked up the stairs to the school, nervous to walk in late. He walked in on Miss. Beadle talking about the nature assignment.

"Now, there are a lot of different types of plants. There are…oh, hello, Kurt. I'm so happy you could join us."

Kurt saw as everyone in school turned to face him. He gave her a smile and limped towards his seat.

"Are you alright, Kurt?"

"Yes ma'am. I just fell out of a tree yesterday."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, ma'am." Kurt said politely with a smile on his face.

"Alright." She continued with her lesson.

Kurt already wasn't paying attention. He was aware of Blaine's eyes on him. He turned his head to face him. Blaine looked worried and Kurt knew that Blaine was going to find out why he was actually limping.

"Are you okay?" Blaine mouthed.

"Yes." Kurt mouthed back.

Blaine didn't look convinced at all and he turned his attention back towards Miss. Beadle who had moved on to math. He felt a nudge on his shoulder and turned to Blaine who had written in his notebook.

 _Will you tell me later?_

Kurt sighed and wrote his response.

 _There's nothing to tell. I fell out of a tree._

 _Kurt, please don't lie to me._

 _I'm not. I'm fine, really._

Blaine looked even less convinced than he did before but decided to drop the subject, knowing that Nellie couldn't control him talking to Kurt after school. He would just walk home with him and talk to him then.

"You are all excused for lunch." Miss Beadle said, breaking Blaine of his thoughts.

"I'll see you outside?" Blaine asked.

"Yeah…Yeah. Sure." Kurt responded.

Kurt was in the process of standing up when he saw Nellie grab Blaine's hand.

"Come on, Blaine. You can sit with me under the tree I like."

Blaine didn't have time to respond before Nellie pulled him out of the building. Not before he saw the look of pure devastation that made its way onto Kurt's face.

* * *

Ten minutes and one sandwich later, Blaine saw Kurt limp his way out the door and down the stairs. He didn't have any lunch with him and he was all alone. Blaine stood up to make his way over.

"Where are you going?" Nellie glared.

"I'm going to talk to Kurt."

"Do you remember what I told you today?"

"I think it's fair of me to go over and tell him that I can't be friends with him anymore. That's the right thing to do. Something that is clearly lost with you."

"I'm giving you 5 minutes to talk to him. If you're not back by then, I'm coming to get you."

"Whatever." Blaine scoffed, walking away.

* * *

Kurt watched as Blaine started working his way over to the log that Kurt had sat on. He wanted to get up and walk away but his ankle hurt too much. The walk to school hurt him so much and it still hurt so bad he was considering stopping by Dr. Baker's on the way back home.

"Hi." Blaine said.

"Hello." Kurt responded still looking down.

"May I sit down?"

Kurt shrugged, which Blaine took as a yes.

"Listen, Kurt-"

"No. I don't want to listen. I don't want to know what is going on. I don't want to know that you are in love with Nellie. I don't want to know that you two are together. I don't want to know anything like that. I trusted you, Blaine. I trusted you and you broke that trust. You made me believe that you liked me too."

"I do, but-"

"No, you don't. If you did, you would not be sitting with Nellie Oleson right now. Would you? No. So just tell me the truth. Tell me that you two are dating and then leave me alone." Kurt said, his eyes swimming with tears.

"Yes. We are. But Kurt, you need to understand something. Please just let me explain."

"Why?" Kurt said, folding his arms.

"It's not what you think. Willie was in the woods watching us when we kissed."

Kurt's grip on his folded arms loosened drastically as he gasped.

"What? But there was no one there."

"He hid in the woods. He saw and heard everything and told Nellie. Nellie threatened to tell everyone unless I agreed to be her boyfriend. I couldn't do that to you so I agreed. She means absolutely nothing to me. I have no feelings for her at all."

"Are…are you serious?" Kurt whispered.

"Every word, Kurt. I love you; so much. And I am doing this because I love you."

Kurt leaned forward because his head hurt so much and he couldn't believe that even Nellie would do something like this.

"I love you too, Blaine. But you really don't have to do this. I'd rather be with you and have the entire town hate me than have you be dating her."

"I can't do that. I won't be doing this for too long. I won't let it last long. I can't."

Kurt sighed. "Okay. I trust you."

Blaine smiled and stood up to go back to Nellie.

"Oh, before I forget." He said turning around. Kurt looked at him, urging him to go on. "I can't talk to you at school. She made it very clear that I'm not allowed to talk to anyone but her. But she can't control me outside school. So I'll talk to you later." Blaine winked before turning and walking away.

Kurt watched as his best friend sit with his worst enemy. He didn't know how long this was supposed to last but he already felt lonely.

* * *

After lunch ended they all worked their way inside to their seats to begin their schoolwork for the day. Kurt was having a hard time focusing. He had other things on his mind like Blaine, how much his ankle hurt, Blaine, and the fact that his head was hurting more and more with each minute. He started feeling lightheaded and everything was starting to go blurry and quiet. Maybe he just needed water. He didn't eat lunch so he might be hungry too. He raised his hand.

"Miss. Beadle? May I please go get some water?"

"Yes, Kurt. Please hurry back, though."

"Yes, ma'am."

Kurt went to the back door and walked to the water spigot just outside. He drank slowly and a lot. But it wasn't helping. He was still light headed and his hands were shaking now. He had never been in this much pain after a beating before. He had just assumed that, with all the other ones, he would need a few days to heal. He decided to just push it aside and not focus on it. Just a few more days and he would be fine.

Kurt walked back inside in more pain than ever. He could barely walk on his ankle now and he could barely see because of his head. He started making his way back to his seat and was halfway down the aisle of desks when his ankle gave out. Kurt felt himself fall to the floor and distantly heard some gasping before everything went dark.

 **What did you think!? Leave a review and let me know! Once again, I am beyond sorry for the delay. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and are looking forward to the next one. Peace and love! :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**I'm back! It's been like 2 months and I am SO sorry. I got really busy with work and life. I need to adult sometimes and it sucks. And then I honestly was going to write last week but then I got a concussion and I was told that it probably wasn't a good idea so I had to write this week instead. I hope you all haven't forgotten about me and that you're anxious to read this chapter. I should be able to write weekly now that I'm only working 4-5 days a week. Thanks for sticking with me through the delay. Here you go!**

 **Do I even need to say that I don't own anything?**

"I prefer that you not take him home, Burt."

"He's my son and I will take him if I want."

"Burt, your son has a very severe head injury and I think it would be better if he stay here for a few days so I can keep an eye on him."

Kurt was drifting in and out of consciousness. The last thing he remembered before now was Blaine holding his torso telling Laura, who was carrying his feet, to hurry. He wanted to sit up to tell Dr. Baker that he was feeling well enough to go home, knowing full well that he was lying due to the stabbing pain making itself known in his head when he tried to sit up.

"No. I get to make the decision and I think he should go home."

"There's more to it than just his head though. His ankle is broken and he needs to stay off it and I'm concerned about the marks he has on his back."

"What are you talking about?"

"I think you know what I'm talking about."

"He likes to climb trees. He's not very coordinated and he falls. That's what it is. Isn't that right, Blaine?"

Kurt waited to hear the response of the boy he didn't know he was there.

"Well…um…Kurt did tell me that he fell out of a tree."

"See. There you go. Now let me take my son home, Dr."

"I don't think it's a good idea but fine. I guess there's no sense in arguing with you. But please keep an eye on him the next couple of days."

"Yeah, yeah."

"Um…Mr. Hummel, is it okay with you if Kurt stays here until he's awake? I think he should sleep. I can walk him home when he wakes up." Blaine asked quietly.

"Fine. I have things to do at home anyway. Have him home before supper. I don't care if you have to wake him up."

Kurt heard the door slam, silencing everyone momentarily.

"Is it okay if I go sit with him, Dr. Baker?"

"In just one moment. Blaine, I want to talk to you. Please have a seat."

Kurt vaguely heard the sound of a chair sliding across the floor as the voices began again.

"Blaine, do you know something that you're not telling me about Kurt?"

Blaine sighed loud enough that Kurt heard.

"Yes. But I can't tell you."

"Blaine, Kurt's life could be in danger. We could save him if you tell me what you know."

"I can't tell you anything. I promised Kurt. He's my best friend and I don't want to betray him."

"I think he would be okay with you telling someone if it involved helping him."

There was a long pause and for a minute, Kurt thought they just exchanged looks to finish the conversation or that he had fallen asleep again. Blaine spoke slowly and quietly.

"Kurt…Kurt's dad has beat him his whole life. Kurt loves his pa and doesn't want anyone to know. Please don't tell anyone. I promised Kurt that I wouldn't tell anyone. I'm only telling you because if this gets worse, then you know how to handle it but please…please keep this a secret."

"Blaine…telling someone could help him."

"No! You can't!"

"Blaine-"

"NO! Kurt will tell someone if he wants to but you aren't going to. And I know you won't because you respect your patients too much."

This time, Kurt was sure that only glances were exchanged because he heard the curtain open and Blaine walk in. He sat in the chair next to the bed Kurt was on and only then did he realize that he had never opened his eyes. He wasn't sure he wanted to. He was so upset that Blaine had betrayed his trust. But maybe this was a good thing? Is that why Kurt had told Blaine in the first place? Because he DID want someone who could help him? All these thoughts were hurting his head. He stirred himself awake so he could be taken care of. He groaned as he opened his eyes and started rubbing his head.

"Ugh. My head…it hurts so much."

"Hi, Kurt. Do you want me to get Dr. Baker?"

Kurt nodded.

Blaine got up from his chair and ran past the curtain. Blaine and Dr. Baker were back in under a minute.

"Hi, Kurt. How are you feeling?" Dr. Baker asked, moving his hands to Kurt's head.

"Not good. My head really hurts."

"I'm sure it does. You hit it pretty hard when you fell. Does anything else hurt? Your ankle? Your back?"

"No. Just my head right now."

"Okay, I'm going to give you something for the pain. And I'm going to give you enough that you can take it before you go to sleep as well. That should be good enough to make the pain go away. If you still have pain tomorrow then you can come see me and I'll get you some more. Okay?"

"Okay. Thank you." Kurt tried his best to smile, failing miserably.

"I'll be right back." Dr. Baker smiled and left the room.

Kurt still hadn't looked at Blaine. He didn't know if he was mad or not and that was more confusing than anything.

"Hey. How are you?" Blaine asked, clearly trying to break the silence.

"I hurt." Kurt said.

"I'm going to walk you home. If you need anything on the way just ask."

Kurt just nodded, still not looking at Blaine.

Dr. Baker walked back in carrying a small envelope.

"Here. Take this now. The envelope has the rest and you can take it before you go to sleep. I've wrapped your ankle to heal it but try your best to stay off it as much as possible after you get home. If you have to, use a wagon to get to school. Try not to walk. The more you walk on it, the longer it will take to heal. I want to see you back in here in about a week to check on it and you. Do you have any questions?"

Kurt shook his head as he swallowed the pills with the water he was given.

"Okay then. If there's nothing else then I'll let you go. Remember, if you still have pain tomorrow, come back and see me."

"I will. Thanks, Dr. Baker." Kurt said, slowly pulling himself off the bed, refusing Blaine's out stretched hand.

Kurt and Blaine walked out the door and started towards their homes. Kurt limping and trying to walk as fast as he could; Blaine keeping up with hardly any effort.

"So, how are you going to get to school tomorrow? I'm sure that if I asked my ma and pa, they would be willing to pick you up in the wagon."

"I'm going to walk. Just like every other day." Kurt said curtly.

"But you heard the doctor. He doesn't want you walking on it."

"Yeah, well, it's not like I have a wagon. I walk everywhere because I have to."

"I already told you that we could take you."

"No." Kurt yelled. "I am perfectly capable of walking."

"But Kurt-"

"Blaine, stop. I heard you tell Dr. Baker. You promised me that you wouldn't tell anyone!"

"Kurt, what was I supposed to do? Your pa could have killed you! The beatings are getting worse."

"I'm aware they are getting worse. But you still broke your promise. I have kept all of your secrets." Kurt tried to storm off but the pain in his ankle was keeping him from running away.

"Look…I'm sorry, Kurt. Really. I'm sorry I broke my promise but…but I'm getting really scared for you. I'm scared that one day, he's going to go too far and you're going to get really hurt. I needed an adult to know in case something happens to you. I don't even know what I would do if something bad happens. You're my best friend, Kurt. And I love you." Blaine said sincerely.

Kurt stopped walking to face him. He looked into the hazel eyes he had grown to love and sighed.

"I love you too." Kurt leaned in and gave him a quick peck on the lips, not wanting to make it longer in case someone happened to walk by. "And I know why you did it but I just don't want my pa to find out that anyone knows. And now I'm nervous that he's going to get really angry if he finds out that you and Dr. Baker know. I'm scared too, Blaine. He's drinking more now than he ever has. And I'm scared that I could go one day without doing anything bad and I'll still get a beating."

"Maybe if you told Mr. Ingalls? You know that he would do something about it."

"No." Kurt turned away and started walking again. "No one else can know. I know he would but he can't know about this. I can take care of this myself."

"Kurt, I don't think you can." Blaine said, following Kurt. "I know that you put on a brave face for everyone at school but at home, he's a lot bigger than you. And I know you're scared."

"Blaine, no. If I need help I will ask for it."

"Promise?" Blaine asked.

"I promise." Kurt replied, Blaine not believing him at all.

* * *

Kurt took a deep breath before he walked into the house, preparing himself. With a small shove, he opened his door.

"Pa? I'm home."

"Come here, son."

Kurt turned towards his father who was sitting at the table with his hands interlocked on the table in from of him. Kurt made his way slowly over there, afraid of saying anything, and sat down across from Burt.

"Do you want to tell me what happened today?" Burt was oddly calm and it was making Kurt nervous.

"I…um…I went to get some water and I tripped on my way back to my seat. I hit my head on a desk going down and Blaine and Laura took me to Dr. Baker." Kurt explained.

"And did you tell them anything about what happened to you?"

"No. I wasn't awake."

"I didn't just mean today. Have you told anyone ever about what happens to you?"

Kurt gulped. As scared as he was to lie to his father, it was nothing compared to the fear of telling him the truth about Blaine knowing.

"N-no. I tell Blaine that I fall out of trees. That's all that he knows, Pa. Honest."

Burt removed his hands from their position and placed them firmly on the table and stood up. Kurt didn't follow suit, too scared to move at the sight of his father towering over him.

"You better be telling me the truth, boy. Or I'm going to give you the beating of your life." Burt walked over to Kurt and gently placed his hand on Kurt's shoulder causing the young boy to flinch. "You better heal up fast."

He removed his hand from Kurt's shoulder and went outside to do God only knows what. Kurt started shaking and he let the tears pour down his cheeks. He didn't know why that conversation scared him so much. His father didn't yell, which was unusual. But he did threaten him which was a common occurrence. The sudden calmness of Burt scared Kurt. Burt was so calm about beating his own son and that thought hurt more than the pain in his head. Kurt walked to his room and fell to his knees behind the closed door, continually letting the tears fall.

* * *

Kurt woke up the next day to a light knocking on his front door. He walked as quickly and quietly as he could to avoid waking his father up.

"Blaine?" Kurt asked rubbing his eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm picking you up for school. My ma and pa are in the wagon right now waiting for us."

"Blaine, I told you I could walk."

"Kurt, you need to be resting your foot. Besides, they need to go to the Mercantile this morning anyway and I just asked if they could take us to school since they were going that way. Come on."

"You didn't trick them into taking us, did you?" Kurt asked only slightly serious.

"Not at all. Cross my heart. Come one, get dressed." Blaine smiled.

Kurt let Blaine come in as he got ready as fast as he could. He ran a comb quickly through his hair and grabbed his books.

"I'm ready! Let's go." Kurt started walking towards the door.

"Kurt, where's your lunch?" Blaine asked curiously.

"Oh…um…I don't eat lunch anymore…" Kurt said quietly and ashamed.

"Why not?"

"My pa is starting to spend all of our money on his alcohol…" Kurt whispered.

"You can share my sandwich. And I'm going to make you one every day."

"Blaine, no. I don't want you to pity me."

"I'm not. You need to eat and you're my best friend. I would do anything to help you." Blaine said with so much honesty that Kurt couldn't argue.

"Fine. But if it becomes too much trouble, you're stopping." Kurt joked. He walked towards the door and put his hand on the handle. Before he turned it, he looked at Blaine and gave him a quick kiss. "I really do love you."

Blaine gave him another kiss. "I love you too."

Kurt opened the door and walked towards Blaine's wagon, feeling that for the first time in a long time, he could be genuinely happy. That thought went away when they showed up at school.

"Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Anderson."

"You're welcome, Kurt. Have a good day. I love you, Blaine." Pam smiled.

"I love you too, Ma. Bye!" Blaine waved. "How are you feeling?" He asked turning towards Kurt.

"Honestly? Better than I thought I would. I hope I don't need to go back to Dr. Baker. Those pills he gave me really helped."

"Just let me know if you need to and I'll go with you."

"Go with him where, Blaine?"

Blaine jumped at the sudden voice behind him.

"Go with him to Dr. Baker's, Nellie." Blaine said with no emotion.

"No. You won't. I told you not to talk to him and I meant it." Nellie grabbed Blaine's arm and dragged him away from Kurt leaving him alone.

"Kurt, where were you this morning?" This time Kurt jumping at the sudden appearance behind him.

"Geez, Laura. You scared me!"

"Sorry, Kurt. Where were you? I had to walk behind Mary and Finn and they were speaking all lovey dovey to each other and it was really gross."

"I was going to walk but Blaine and his parents picked me up. Dr. Baker said he didn't want me on my ankle that much so they brought me. I would've told you but I didn't even know myself."

"Oh…I understand. Are you going to be walking home today?"

"I honestly don't know. I will be unless Blaine has come up with another plan to kidnap me after school as well." He joked.

"I hope not. I miss you, Kurt."

"I miss you too. We should go fishing this weekend! Just the two of us."

"I'd love that!" Laura took the breath away from Kurt when she squeezed him in a hug. "I can't wait!"

They were interrupted by the sound of the bell signaling the start of school. Kurt was walking slow as everyone ran past him. He was about to start walking in when he was shoved out of the way and pressed against the wall.

"Oof! What's going on?" Kurt yelped.

"Stay away from Blaine, Kurt. Stay away from him or there is going to be trouble." Nellie said.

She let go of her grip on him and ran inside. Kurt followed after a few second trying to figure out what had just happened.

 **Hope you guys enjoyed! Please let me know what you thought. Unfortunately, I'll be ending this story within a couple of chapters.** **I know how it's going to end and what the last chapters are going to have but unfortunately, I can't make it longer without it getting boring. I absolutely love writing this story. I'm writing 2 right now and this is my favorite for sure so I'm sad about ending it. Anyway, leave a review and let me know what you think. Until (hopefully) next week. Peace and love! xoxo**


	12. Chapter 12

**I am unbelievably sorry for the wait on this! I had so much going on. But I am here to stay, I promise. I only have about 2 more chapters planned so I am going to try and get them done ASAP so as not to have a delay this long ever again. Please enjoy.**

 **(I still own nothing)**

The rest of the week flew by in Kurt's opinion and before he knew it, it was already Friday. He had been by to see Dr. Baker the day before and he was happy to hear that is ankle was healed. Blaine wanted to celebrate with him by going on a picnic with Kurt this weekend.

"I would love to Blaine but I already made plans with Laura to go fishing. Maybe next weekend?"

"Oh, of course. I mean, if you've already made plans then it would be rude to cancel."

This past week had been a series of ups and downs. Kurt had barely been able to walk with Blaine home at all because Nellie would make him come over to her house and do schoolwork everyday. Kurt knew why Blaine was doing this but he felt guilty. He shouldn't have to be doing this to protect Kurt. It wasn't fair to Blaine. When Kurt brought that up, Blaine shrugged it off saying that Kurt was worth it and it wouldn't go on much longer.

Kurt grabbed his school books from his bed and left his house. As per usual, he ran into Blaine.

"Good morning, Blaine!" He said excitedly.

"Good morning to you too." Blaine returned.

He leaned forward and granted Kurt his daily kiss and grabbed his hand to start walking.

"How was your night?" Blaine asked.

"It's getting better...I think. I haven't had really any interaction with Pa since I fell in school. I think he thinks that if I show up to school with any more injuries people will get suspicious."

Blaine's heart broke. Kurt was talking so casually about being beaten. He was used to this...and he shouldn't have to be. He should be living like any other 14 year old boy and playing baseball at school and climbing trees after school. Not having to be extremely careful in whatever you do because you have injuries all over your body.

"Why don't you tell someone?"

"No, Blaine. We've talked about this. I'll be fine. He hasn't done anything too bad with the exception of the ankle."

"Kurt-"

"Blaine, no. I'm not talking about this anymore."

And he didn't. You couldn't talk about a subject that Kurt didn't want to address so even though it still worried Blaine, he was going to respect Kurt's wishes and not talk about it anymore.

"When are you going fishing with Laura?" Blaine asked, changing the subject.

"We were going to go tomorrow but I have a lot of chores to catch up on. So we're going to go on Sunday after she gets out of church. Around 2."

"Her ma and pa are okay with that?"

"Yeah. Apparently she does it all the time."

"Oh. That sounds like fun. But you can't do a picnic tomorrow?"

"No. I meant it when I said I had a lot of chores to do. But I promise, I'll be thinking of you." Kurt said sincerely.

"And I, of you. I love you." Blaine whispered.

"I love you." Kurt returned.

They shared in one final quick kiss before they let go of each other's hands and made it to the tree to meet Laura.

"Hi, Laura!" Blaine exclaimed.

"Hi!" Laura screamed. She ran forward to hug Kurt and Blaine. "I missed you this week. Next time you are going to ride in a wagon to school, you should bring me with you. I was so lonely this week."

"I'm sorry, Laura. I didn't even think of that. I'm such a terrible friend." Blaine said.

"No you're not. You are both my best friends."

"And you're mine." Kurt smiled.

"Come on! Let's go!" Laura said. "We don't want to be too late."

* * *

The walk to school was as great as it ever was. Kurt could say that he missed his time with Laura and Blaine. He saw Blaine almost every day but it was rewarding to spend time with both of them at the same time again now that the awkwardness of the dance was behind them.

"Kurt, are we still going fishing this weekend?" Laura asked.

"Absolutely. I can't wait!"

"Blaine, do you want to come?"

"No thank you. I appreciate the offer but I have some farm work to help my pa with and I think it would be nice for the two of you to do something together." Blaine smiled.

"Okay. Well, if you change your mind, we're going to be at my normal creek by the Garvey's at 2 on Sunday." She said.

"Thank you. I'll keep that in mind."

When the view of the school came in their view, Kurt felt his happiness start diminishing.

"Are you okay, Kurt?" Laura asked, noticing his sad face.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." Kurt lied.

He was far from fine. He knew that any second now, Nellie was going to come and take Blaine away from Kurt. He knew that as soon as school started, Blaine would sit a little closer than necessary at their seat but wouldn't be able to talk to him. And then would come lunch when Kurt would sit by himself while Blaine was forced to sit with Nellie and Laura would play Marbles with Johnathon Garvey and Willie Oleson. School would come again when Blaine and Kurt would "accidentally" rub hands against each others throughout the rest of school. Then Kurt would be forced to watch Blaine be pulled away by Nellie and he wouldn't see him again until the next day when he came to walk with Kurt to school. It was the same every day and had been for weeks.

"Hi, Blaine!" Kurt cringed at the voice.

"Nellie." Blaine said shortly.

"I have something I want to show you after school today."

Kurt walked slow enough he could hear their conversation but fast enough that he wasn't with Blaine.

"I can't come over after school. I need to come straight home."

"Why?" Nellie asked angrily.

"Because my ma needs me home to help with chores."

"We have a very clear understanding, Blaine." Nellie glared.

"I'm not even asking for myself. I was told to come home to help my ma. And whether I have your permission or not, I'm going to do it. I've done everything you ask and more. The least you can do is do this one thing for me." Blaine retorted.

"Fine. But this is the only time I will let this happen."

Kurt sped up not wanting to hear any more. Without even noticing, Laura was almost inside the school building already. She was fast! He ran to catch up with her.

"You always speed up when you see Nellie." Kurt said when he finally reached her.

"I hate that Nellie Oleson. And why is she with Blaine? I thought Blaine wasn't interested in her."

"He isn't. Nellie is threatening him. He's not enjoying this."

"Threatening him? With what?" Laura asked concerned.

Kurt hadn't meant to say that out loud. He obviously couldn't tell the truth but it was so hard to lie to Laura.

"I don't know. He didn't tell me. But whatever it is, Blaine must really be upset about if he's willing to do this."

"That's true. Well, whatever it is, it must be really worth it." Laura said, running off to go on the see saw with Mary, who had made it a habit of showing up really early to spend time with Finn. He was out sick today which Mary didn't know until she showed up.

Kurt started blushing. He didn't think about that. Kurt must be worth it if Blaine was willing to endure Nellie daily just to protect him. He didn't think he would ever in his lifetime find a boy who was just like him. But to able to find someone who was just like him that was willing to protect him from harm wasn't even possible in Kurt's mind. He had struck gold with Blaine. He wasn't good enough for that boy, so he was going to hold onto him for as long as possible.

He turned around and glanced at the boy that stole his heart, who was now sitting under a tree with Nellie. Nellie was talking away about something that, based on the look on his face, was not interesting to Blaine at all. Almost as if he could feel himself being watched, Blaine turned his gaze toward Kurt. He smiled bigger than Kurt had ever seen and Kurt couldn't help the blush that appeared on his cheeks. Nellie seemed to notice instantly what Blaine was looking at because she put her hand on Blaine's cheek and turned his head to face her, his smile disappearing instantly. Kurt's heart felt broken as he headed to sit on the stairs until Ms. Beadle came out to ring the bell.

* * *

School ended quickly. Kurt didn't know if it was because Blaine was sitting closer than normal or if it was because it was a fun day. It didn't matter to him either way. All that mattered to Kurt was that he was finally able to walk home from school with Blaine. Laura had already left with Mary saying that she didn't want Mary to be lonely, after confirming her day of fishing with Kurt, leaving Kurt and Blaine by themselves.

They only exchanged looks until they were out of view of their fellow school kids. Blaine looked around before leaning in and giving Kurt a quick peck on the lips.

"I love you." He smiled.

"I love you too." Kurt said back.

They continued walking, talking about whatever came to their mind, unaware that they had just been seen by a girl with blonde, curly hair just outside the Mercantile, wearing a glare and a smile. She watched them walk away in anger with a plan fully forming in her head. After watching them until they were out of view, she turned and walked inside.

"Oh, Nellie, dear! How was school?" Mrs. Oleson asked her daughter.

"School was fine. But it was what happened after school that I can't stop thinking about."

"What happened? Is everything okay?"

* * *

Saturday had finally arrived and Burt Hummel was starving. He realized he didn't have much food in the house for Kurt to cook and he was running low on his whiskey. He decided that while Kurt was doing his chores, he would come into town to pick up a few things, telling Kurt specifically that he was to keep doing his chores while he was gone.

He walked inside the Mercantile. Mrs. Oleson, who had heard the bell on the door but was away from the counter and couldn't see who walked in, shouted to make her voice be heard.

"I'll be there in a moment!"

Burt said nothing in reply and instead starting gathering things he needed. He grabbed 4 bottles of whiskey and headed up to the front to get supplies for bread and some meat. He had only been standing there for a few seconds when Mrs. Oleson finally came into view.

"Hello! Welcome to the...oh. Mr. Hummel. How are you?" She asked, dropping to a voice of judgement.

"I'm just here to get some flour, eggs and meat." He grumbled.

"Of course." She said shortly.

There was silence for just a little while while she gathered supplies.

"You seem to be in an upset mood. And I can understand why what with your son being the way he is."

"Excuse you?" He asked.

"I thought for sure you would know. Well, I guess not. But I shouldn't be too surprised knowing how you are never seen around town with your son."

"What in God's name are you talking about?"

"Oh. Well, my little Nellie told me something very interesting about your little boy. And I can tell you right now that we will no longer let him inside the store. I don't have a place for a gross little boy like yours." She said slyly.

"What did she tell you? Why are you saying this about my Kurt?" He asked, sounding very irritated.

"Nellie informed me that your son has been going around and hurting that poor Blaine Anderson by kissing him. She said she has seen him kiss him more than once. Willie has too. Apparently Blaine has told Nellie that he doesn't like Kurt and every time he tells him that, Kurt gets angry and kisses him. I don't know about you, but I don't want that kind of boy around my store. I think it's disgusting and you should feel lucky that I'm even letting YOU in my store." She gave him an evil smirk before ringing him up for his supplies. "You keep your boy away from us and if you know what's good for you, I would keep him away from Blaine Anderson as well."

She walked away from him after Burt paid with a satisfied grin on her face. Burt was filled with rage. But at Kurt or Mrs. Oleson, he didn't know. All he knew was that he had to get home and fast.

* * *

Blaine waited for 10 minutes at their usual meeting spot on Monday morning waiting for Kurt before deciding that he should just go ahead. Because he left late, Laura and Mary had already gone on ahead, leaving Blaine to walk by himself. Which he didn't mind. He liked to have his alone time sometimes to think about things and he did. He really missed Kurt this weekend. He didn't think Kurt could make him feel that way but without trying, Kurt made his life better.

He spent many nights laying in bed thinking about Kurt. Thinking about how it felt to have Kurt's lips on his, how it felt to hold his hand. He thought about how he went weak at the knees whenever he laughed or smiled. And those eyes. Kurt's eyes were so mesmerizingly beautiful and Blaine could get lost in them in a second. There wasn't even a color around that could match the color of Kurt's. There was nothing that he couldn't love about Kurt and that was something that he loved the most.

He arrived at school in more time than he thought. By the time he got there, it was only a few minutes until Ms. Beadle typically rung the bell. He was heading to go sit on the steps but Laura ran up to him instead.

"Blaine! Where were you this morning? Where's Kurt?" She asked frantically.

"I don't know. I waited for him this morning but he never showed up. I wouldn't be too concerned though. He's showed up late before."

"I know that. But this is completely different."

"Why?"

Laura never got the chance to answer due to Ms. Beadle ringing the bell signaling the start of school. Blaine walked in and sat down at his spot, turning around when he felt himself being poked in the back.

"What?" He whispered.

"I really need to talk to you." She whispered back.

"Later. After school, okay?"

He turned back to listen to Ms. Beadle, not really hearing anything. He started noticing that it was almost lunch time and Kurt had still not shown up. He's been late before but never by this much. When lunch actually came, he didn't hear a word Nellie said. He was only thinking about Kurt. Where was he? He could just be sick. It would make sense since Finn just got over being sick. He could have just caught whatever Finn had. Yeah...that's what it was. He kept trying to convince himself of that the rest of the school day, not completely believing that Kurt was sick. He was just leaving school grounds when Laura caught up to him.

"Blaine, wait! I really need to talk to you."

"What is it, Laura?" He asked, stopping to face her.

"It's Kurt. I think something's wrong."

"Why?" He asked concerned.

"He didn't show up to fish yesterday. I went by his house but no one answered the door. I looked everywhere around his farm and his barn but there was no sign of anything. Then I tried knocking again but there was nothing. I don't know what was behind the door but when I tried opening it, it didn't open. Then this morning, I overheard Nellie telling someone that Mrs. Oleson blabbed to Mr. Hummel something about Kurt and he was really mad. I don't know what's going on but I'm really worried about Kurt."

Blaine didn't even say anything before he turned around and ran the other way. He had to see Kurt. He knows things that Laura doesn't and that makes him even more nervous. He doesn't know what Mrs. Oleson told Burt but he knows that whatever it was, if it made Mr. Hummel mad, then Kurt was in trouble. The thought made him run even faster. He had to get to Kurt and he had to get there fast.

 **What did you think!? Once again, I am so sorry. I just woke up today and the creative juices just started flowing. There is only one more chapter on this story and I know exactly where I'm going with it so I'm hoping to even start it when I get off work today. Please leave a review and give me your input. Thank you to all that are still reading and following this even though it has been forever since I updated. You all are what encourages me to continue. Until next time! xoxo**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey there! I'm back! But I told you that it wouldn't be too long on this chapter. This is the last chapter of Forbidden and I am sad to see it end. I loved writing this story and I actually had a sequel in mind but my sister was very VERY against it. So, I had to scrap my idea and change it up a little. So no sequel will be happening. Enjoy!**

 **Trigger warning of abuse at the 2nd chapter break to the 3rd. Please do not read if that is a problem for you. The line before is 'Kurt closed his eyes.'**

 **I am so so sorry... (You'll see why)**

 **(The only thing I own is the story)**

"Blaine, wait!" Laura screamed. "Let me come with you!"

"No!"

"I'm coming! But please. Tell me what's going on."

Blaine stopped, but only for a moment. Every minute he spent explaining something to Laura was another minute of Kurt being hurt.

"His dad beats him. All the time. Willie Oleson saw us kissing and told Nellie. She threated me and said she would tell everyone. That's why I'm being her boyfriend. Nellie must have told Mrs. Oleson and she told Kurt's dad. Hate me all you want but I need to help Kurt."

Blaine turned around and started running again.

"Blaine, I don't care," Laura said, finally catching up. "But I'm still coming with you. Kurt is my best friend and if he is hurt then I don't know what I will do."

Blaine stopped abruptly.

"You...you don't care?" He asked quietly.

"No...It's not something that is considered normal but I love you guys. You are both my best friends." She smiled.

Blaine wanted to respond but the urgency of the situation came back to him and he started panicking again.

"Come on. We need to get to Kurt!"

* * *

Kurt heard the banging on the door and the screaming of his name. But he couldn't move. He was too weak. He barely had enough strength to scream Blaine and Laura's name. He heard the banging get louder until there was none. Kurt thought they left and he couldn't hide his disappointment. He needed help but couldn't find the energy to lift his body off the floor. He flinched when he heard the door bang open and looked surprised when he saw Blaine flying through the area where the door once stood.

Kurt watched as Blaine looked around the house looking for him and saw his eyes widen when he finally spotted Kurt lying on the floor of his bedroom.

"Kurt!"

Blaine ran towards him with Laura not far behind.

"Oh my god, Kurt! Are you okay? Dear, God please tell me you're okay."

Blaine sat down on the floor next to Kurt's head and gently lifted him up into his arms. Kurt wanted to hug him back but his arms wouldn't let him.

"B-b-Blaine..." Kurt whispered.

"Shh. Don't speak. We're going to get you out of here. I promise. Laura! Go run and get Dr. Baker. Please! Tell him we're here. Go!"

Laura quickly turned around and ran, as fast as Kurt had ever seen her, out the door.

"Where is he, Kurt? Is he here?"

Kurt used every ounce of strength he had to shake his head.

"He...he...he left. Sleepy Eye..." He uttered.

Blaine held Kurt in his arms, stroking his hair and trying his best to comfort the boy. Kurt was silently crying but not doing much more. The strength he had almost completely gone.

"What did he do to you?" Blaine cried. "What did he do to you?"

Kurt closed his eyes.

* * *

He remembered his pa coming home on Saturday afternoon with supplies in his hands and a glare on his face. Kurt had just been finishing up his chores in the house and was getting ready to go outside when his father stormed in. He reeked of alcohol. He watched as his father slammed the food on the table and walked slowly over to Kurt. Kurt remembered seeing two empty whiskey bottles on the table and an almost empty one in his hand.

Kurt slowly started backing up to the wall. He didn't know what he did but he was terrified of his pa right now. Burt took another sip of his whiskey, almost drinking the rest of it. His father spoke.

"Is it true, boy?"

"I-I-I-is what true, Pa?" Kurt asked meekly.

"Is it true that you're going around kissing boys? Are you being disgusting like they said?"

Kurt gasped. How did he know that?

"N-n-n-n-no, Pa. I'm not doing that." Kurt cried.

"One day you're going to figure out how to stop lying to me, boy. Maybe this will teach you a lesson."

Kurt collapsed to the floor when the whiskey bottle connected to his face. He could taste to blood that was dripping from his nose. He screamed when his father picked him up and threw him against the wall. Kurt tried to stand but fell over when he felt his father's foot connect with his ribs, Kurt hearing a cracking noise.

"Pa. Pa, please stop." Kurt cried.

Burt leaned down to pick Kurt up. When he was on his feet, Burt grabbed him by the back of the head, slamming his face into the wall 4 times. Kurt could feel the blood all over his face and taste the metallic liquid in his mouth. Kurt fell back to the floor, his head feeling heavy. He could hear the sound of his father's belt coming off.

"No. Pa, please." Kurt whimpered.

The first of many strikes connected with his back. Kurt was screaming in pain, being ignored by his father. The belt connected with his back another 9 times before Burt decided to move on from whipping. With Kurt barely moving on the ground, Burt grabbed the front of his shirt and dragged him into Kurt's bedroom, throwing him to the floor when he reached it. He decided to do one more kick to the ribs and stomach before turning around and walking away.

"I'm going to Sleepy Eye. You stay where you are and think about how stupid you are for lying to me. And think about how disgusting you are. Maybe then you can be useful."

Kurt watched him close the door before he started crying harder. He couldn't move. The pain was just too strong. All he could do was pray that the pain would go away.

* * *

Thinking about what happened made Kurt cry harder. The shaking only made Blaine hold onto him harder.

"I'm going to get you out of here, Kurt. You never have to go through this again. I'm going to get you out of here. I promise." Blaine tried to be strong for Kurt but seeing him all broken and crying with what looked like dried blood all over his face, he couldn't hold back his own tears.

They sat in silence for what felt like an eternity when they heard a wagon pull up outside.

"Dr. Baker is here. He's going to take care of you. I promise. He'll help you. Just be brave. Be brave, Kurt. I love you so much."

Kurt wanted to say it back but each second, he lost a little more energy and strength.

"Blaine! Dr. Baker's here. He's right behind me." Laura yelled.

Blaine noticed how her hair was everywhere, as if she ran without stopping, and she also had tears in her eyes. True to her word, Dr. Baker came in shortly after Laura ran inside. Blaine saw his eyes widen when he saw Kurt.

"Please. Please help him." Blaine said, all tries of being strong disappearing.

"I'll do what I can, son."

He walked into the room and tried to remove Kurt from Blaine's arms much to Blaine's dismay.

"Blaine, son. Go wait outside. You won't be able to be in here when I'm looking at him. I'll come get you as soon as I'm done." He reassured him.

"Okay. Please...he's my best friend."

"I know."

Blaine released his hold on Kurt and whispered in his ear.

"I'll be right outside. Dr. Baker is going to take care of you. I promise I'm not going anywhere."

He stroked his face once before finally giving in and letting Dr. Baker take over. He looked behind him as he left Kurt's room before closing the door behind him.

* * *

It had felt like forever since he had left Kurt's room even though it was only about 10 minutes. Blaine had tried pacing and he had tried sitting but nothing was helping.

"Blaine?" Laura said breaking the silence. "Do you maybe want to go outside and walk around for a little bit?"

Blaine shook his head.

"No. I need to be here for him. I promised him I wouldn't go anywhere."

"We won't go far. Just outside around the house. We'll be within earshot if Dr. Baker calls for us. Come on."

Blaine nodded his head.

Laura walked forward and grabbed him by the arm and pulled him outside. The weather was mocking his mood. It was a beautiful, sunny day. There was a slight breeze and he heard birds chirping in the trees.

"So, you and Kurt?" She asked.

Blaine stopped and looked at her.

"Are you going to judge me and beat me up now?"

"No." She whispered.

"Why not? I would understand why. We're not supposed to be this way. What other person do you know that is like this?" Blaine retorted.

"None. But, I meant it when I said that I loved you both. You are happy together and that's what matters. It makes sense now too. Kurt has never mentioned someone that he liked and he's never been one to play with the boys at school. He usually likes to play with the girls. But he's my best friend."

Blaine let tears fall down his face and he stepped forward to give you a hug.

"I love you, Laura."

"I love you too, Blaine."

Neither of them moved from their hug until they heard the voice of someone that neither of them expected to see.

"Nellie? What are you doing here?" Blaine asked confused.

"I heard what happened."

"What? How?" He asked.

"Laura was looking for Dr. Baker all around town. Everyone knows."

"Then why are you here?" He asked angrily.

"I wanted to talk to you."

"I have nothing to say to you."

"I'll leave you guys alone." Laura returned to the house.

"Please, Blaine. It's important."

"What do you want?"

"I wanted to say that I'm sorry. I didn't know about Kurt's pa. If I had, I NEVER would've told my ma about you two."

"That doesn't make anything better. You still told her and you have basically been controlling me for months."

"I know. And I'm sorry for everything. This is all my fault and I will never be able to say I'm sorry enough. And if anything happens to Kurt then I will never be able to forgive myself."

She sounded so genuine that Blaine couldn't be mad at her anymore.

"I-I will accept your apology but if anything happens to Kurt then I will never forgive you."

She nodded in understanding.

"Do you know how he is?"

"No. Not yet. I'm going to go check."

He turned around and headed back towards the house.

"Oh, and Nellie?" He said facing her. "This wasn't your fault. His father is a bad person. He's the reason for this."

She gave him a small smile that he returned before entering the house.

* * *

Laura was watching Blaine who was standing next to a window just waiting for any word from Dr. Baker. He had been in there for an hour and hadn't come out at all. Blaine was getting anxious. He needed something. Something to hear that Kurt was doing alright. He had to be. Blaine loved Kurt. He loved him more than anything. He got lost in his thoughts that he almost missed the sound of Kurt's bedroom door opening.

Dr. Baker stepped out and closed the door behind him. Blaine looked up and ran over to him with Laura right behind him.

"How is he? Is he going to be okay?"

Dr. Baker took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes before putting the glasses back on.

"I'm afraid not, son. His body isn't strong enough to recover from the damage."

"What do you mean? What's going to happen?" Blaine cried.

"It means that Kurt isn't going to make it...his insides are too damaged and he's too weak."

Blaine was frozen. He couldn't move. Even his brain could barely think.

 _No! No, it's not true! Kurt has to make it. He's going to be just fine. He's going to be fine._

"I want to see him."

"No, Blaine." Dr. Baker said.

"Let me see him!" Blaine yelled.

"He said he wanted to see Laura first."

Laura looked surprised.

"I'll-I'll be quick, okay?"

She ran into his room and closed the door. Blaine still hadn't moved.

"I'm sorry, Blaine. I did everything I could."

"How long does he have?" Asked Blaine.

"Not long. He was here on Sunday all by himself which didn't help."

Blaine should've been there. He should've gone fishing with them. Then he would've known something was wrong. He wouldn't have given up until he made it in the house. He had told Laura he wouldn't go. He should've. Things could be different now. He turned his head to Kurt's door and saw Laura leaving it with tears coming down her face.

"He wants to see you, Blaine."

* * *

Blaine took a deep breath before opening the door. Despite the sadness in the room, the sun was shining brightly through the window. His eyes immediately found Kurt. He was lying on his bed with his blankets covering him. By the look of things, Dr. Baker had cleaned up the blood on his face and did his best to patch up the cuts. Kurt met Blaine's eyes and met him with a smile that looked like it took a lot of effort.

"Hi." He whispered.

"Hi to you too." Blaine uttered, trying to stay strong for Kurt.

"Come sit next to me?"

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

Blaine walked over to the bed and sat down next to Kurt, grabbing his hand in the process.

"Laura knows about us." Kurt said.

"I know...I told her. I'm sorry. I panicked."

"I know. I'm not," Kurt stopped to cough. "I'm not mad."

"How did I get so lucky to find someone like you?" Blaine asked, putting his spare hand on Kurt's cheek.

As if it was second nature, Kurt leaned into the hand.

"It wasn't luck." He smiled.

"Kurt, I've been looking for you forever." He whispered. "I love you so much."

"And I love you."

Blaine leaned down and gently gave Kurt a kiss on the lips but putting his feelings for the boy into it. When they pulled apart he heard Kurt whisper. Not because he wanted to be quiet but because that was all he could manage.

"You were my forever."

"And you were mine."

Blaine and Kurt stared into each other's eyes, not needing to say a word. Blaine watched as his favorite eyes in the world slowly lost all sign of life until he was staring into the unseeing blue eyes.

* * *

Blaine felt as if his heart were on fire. He couldn't breathe. His ma had come into his room so often during the night that he didn't think she was sleeping at all. He couldn't stop seeing Kurt's eyes loose all life. He couldn't stop picturing the screams he gave Laura as she tried to pull him away from Kurt's lifeless body. He couldn't forget seeing his coffin in the ground.

His life would never be the same again. How could it? Kurt had become his best friend and the love of his life. He would never be able to find someone like Kurt ever again.

He felt an overwhelming amount of guilt. He knew what Burt Hummel was capable of. Maybe if he just told someone, Kurt would still be here. He knew and he didn't tell anyone. Kurt told him not to but he shouldn't have listened. Kurt being dead was all his fault. How was he supposed to live with himself now? How could he live knowing that Kurt Hummel, the most incredible person that ever lived, was dead because of him?

Blaine pulled himself out of bed and pulled on a pair of shoes. He opened one of his notebooks and used his pencil to leave a note for his parents. He put it on the table and reread it making sure it sounded right.

 _I can't live knowing it's my fault. I love you, Ma and Pa_

He walked out the door and headed to his barn. He knew exactly where his father kept his guns. He grabbed one started heading into town. He needed to talk to Kurt. It wasn't the same knowing that he wouldn't hear Kurt's voice respond but at least he knew Kurt was listening. He picked up the pace and finally made it to Kurt's resting place. He fell to his knees next to it. He started talking as the tears poured down his face.

"I'm sorry, Kurt! This is all my fault. I should have told someone. If I had, you would still be alive. I know you told me not to say anything but I love you so much that I listened. I shouldn't have. It's my fault you're not here. You should still be here laughing and playing with Laura. You should still be going to school studying and finally be able to make all those clothes you wanted to make. You are so amazing. You deserve to be here. But I don't. I don't deserve to still be living when you aren't here anymore. Not when you not being here is all. My. Fault. I love you, Kurt. And I'm so sorry! But don't worry about me...I'll be seeing you very very soon."

Blaine looked down at the gun in his hands and closed his eyes.

 **Before anything else, NO ONE hates me more than I hate myself! I promise you! I have been hating myself for months just thinking about this. I am in actual tears right now! But please tell me how much you hate me in a review.**

 **First, thank you to everyone who has been following this story since the beginning and favoriting despite the long updates. I apologize but life was crazy this past year. Thank you to all of the reviewers and I'm so sorry I wasn't able to respond to them but I really wanted to.**

 **Second, I need to say one more time how much I LOVE Burt Hummel and Mike O'Malley. I needed to make sacrifices for this story. Also, Kurt is my absolute favorite glee character by far and I adore Blaine. I also really love Chris Colfer with every fiber of my being and I have so much love for Darren Criss as well so I didn't do this just to get back at them for something.**

 **And third, I have a lot of stories planned out so I hope you all can find time to maybe read and enjoy those one's as well. (None of them will be as depressing as this one, I promise).**

 **Once again; I am SO sorry. Please know how much I absolutely LOVE Kurt, Blaine, Burt, Chris, Darren and Mike. This story in NO way expresses my feelings on them.**


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